A Boy From Philly
by MilkMamaReturns
Summary: Booth's father's health is failing. He returns home. In the meantime, Brennan learns more about her partner and his childhood. Not your usual story. Rated M for language and situation. Story Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part I**

He knocked lightly on the door frame. The woman didn't turn around. She hardly noticed the noise. She was too focused on the steady whoosh of oxygen through the nasal cannula.

At sixty-seven she looked so frail. So tired and wasted and it tore his heart out to see his mother like that. Of course, if truth be told, he was used to seeing his mother like that. Strong when her husband was away, but weak when he was near.

He blinked. A distant memory bubbled to light. A memory so full of pain and hurt that it took every bit of his strength not to be fall to his knees from it.

Her hands plunged into soapy water. Bits of food clung to the dish. She scrubbed it off with her thumb nail, gave it a rinse under steaming hot water and placed it on the rack with the others.

A boy of ten sat at the kitchen table coloring a Superman color book with deep concentration that caused his lips to purse.

His mother dried her hands and sighed. She turned to her son and smiled, a hand resting on her skirted hip, "Did you get your homework done, Seeley?"

"Yeah," he replied absently, not raising his head or crayon.

"How about your chores?" The phone rang and she walked across the kitchen and answered the phone. "Yeah. Hold on." She covered the mouthpiece. "Your dad's gonna be home any second. You should get a move on." She uncovered the mouthpiece, "Hi, Beatrice. Just about to start supper. You?"

The door swung open. The boy watched his father cross the kitchen, set his stained white-turned-gray plastic cooler on the table. He ruffled his son's hair. "Hey, boy." His breath was heavy with a certain familiar odor. His next destination was the Frigidaire. Jars and containers jingled as the door jerked open. "Where's dinner, Nan?"

"Just a minute, hun." She then whispered quickly to her friend, "I should probably go."

"Hell yes, you should go." He reached out and took the phone from his wife and hung it on the receiver.

A pink blush grew on Anne's neck. "You didn't need to do that, Mike. I was going to hang up."

"Yeah. After you talked shop with the girls and started telling Barb all about how I smack you around. That's what it is, isn't it? You tell her I hit you, don't you? F-ck!"

"Alright, now you're just being paranoi--" She didn't finish the sentence. Her eyes grew slightly wider when she realized she had crossed that line. That indefinable line. The line that was so thin that it was often penetrated before she had a chance to stop herself.

He simply gritted his teeth.

The boy in the corner quietly pushed back his chair and slid under the table. He made himself as small as possible and hoped that everything would blow over. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"So you think you're Queen of the Whole Damn World, now, don't you?!" Mike Booth never hesitated to his his wife. His hand was swift. It shot out and made perfect contact with the porcelain white skin of Anne's right cheek. She covered it with a shaking hand.

"Ow! Th-That's not what a meant!" She fought back tears.

"That's a bunch of cock-sucking bull-shit, Nan!" He stalked away from her and went back to the refrigerator. "F-ck my balls. I told you to pick up some Bud, right?"

His eyes shot to the woman who now shook head to toe in the corner of the kitchen.

"F-cking cunt sack of shit."

"I'm sorry. I just got busy. The boys needed to get to baseball earlier today and you wanted the dishes done. I- I didn't have time to swing by the store. I can do it now if you want."

"I can do it now if you want," he mocked.

"There's no need to degrade me," she muttered.

"Degrade you? Is that what you tell Beatrice? I degrade you? F-ck me, Nan! Go burn a f-cking bra!"

"I-I'm just saying that--" Her bottom lip trembled, unsure of how she should go about the whole thing.

He whipped the phone off the receiver and backhanded her with the phone, splitting her cheek open.

Seeley sunk lower and held onto the leg of the table. Some day, he told himself. Some day he would be bigger than his dad.

"Ah!" Her trembling fingers touched the bloody tissue on her cheek. It was only a fraction of a second before Mike wrapped the yellow cord around her neck and shoved her roughly against the wall.

"Please--" She sputtered, hot tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Dad?" Three sets of eyes went to the doorway. Six year old Jared stood there, eyes brimming with tears. "Just leave mom alone, OK?!"

The phone dropped to the ground. Mike began to move toward his youngest son, eyes trained, a deep crevice digging between his eyes.

"No! Mike, no! He's just six!" His wife begged.

Seeley knew his mom was right. Jared was just six. Hardly old enough or big enough to protect himself. He scrambled from beneath the table and grabbed the nearest thing. A half-full glass of milk, which, thanks to baseball practice, he quite accurately chucked at his father's head.

Blazing eyes settled on the elder Booth brother.

Now a man, he stood at his father's hospital room door. He rapped again softly so as to not frighten his mother. Several silent seconds passed before he finally spoke. "Mom?"

She turned and smiled genuinely at Booth. She stood. Her once red hair was now white. Her hazel eyes were as bright and alive as ever. Spirit. Anne Booth had spirit. And spunk. What kind of woman would she have been if she had never married Michael Booth? Probably the same kind of woman that was on her son's #1 speed dial. Fiery and precocious. To her sisters and mother, that was the saddest thing of their 15 year marriage. The fact that she had gone from wild and fun teenager to guilt-ridden and broken woman within a matter of years.

"How's dad?" He asked as he embraced his mother.

"Breathing," she replied seriously, but her eyes glinted slightly. Maybe there was a little fire in there, yet. "The oncologist should be in any minute." She smiled at her son. And she felt the usual swell of pride. Her son. The boy she birthed was now a grown, handsome, successful FBI agent. And better yet, he was caring and intelligent, sweet and faithful. What a blessing! Despite the pain she'd endured to raise her sons right, she was confident that she had done something right with Seeley Booth. "How's my FBI agent son doing?"

He smiled and sat beside her, pulling up a stool and rolling it next to his mother's seat. He shrugged. "It's going fine. Cullen keeps offering me promotions, so it must be going fine."

"Offering? You're not accepting?" She looked at him quizzically.

Booth smiled, "I'm happy where I am, mom."

She nodded knowingly. "It's that partner of yours."

"Bones?"

This time she smiled at him. "Temperance is a wonderful young lady."

"Yeah, she is. But that's not why I haven't accepted. I really like my job, mom. Maybe I'll accept his offer when I'm too old to run." A cocky grin.

She smiled and chuckled lightly. Then her eyes fell on Mike. His skin was gray. He slept lightly. His bottom lip poked out unnaturally, it was the color of an eggplant. "I was wondering if you would help me go through my own Last Wishes and Final Arrangements."

Booth tipped his. His teeth gritted together, "Mom, you're sixty-five."

"Sixty-seven. And it's obviously not too young for your dad to die."

A measuring minute or two passed. Booth's eyes fell on his father. Gray. Ill. Dying. Then he looked at his mom again. "OK, mom," he replied softly.

She swallowed. She got that 'brave' look on her face that he was so acquainted with. "If it helps you any, I've already given it quite a bit of thought."

He looked over at his mom. He sighed and reached for her hand. Once chubby, now it seemed so much thinner. He ran his thumb across her knuckles.

"IV fluids and tube feeding only."

"Mom--"

"I worked Hospice Care for twenty years, hun. Nothing's more painful than dehydrating to death." She sighed and looked at her ex-husband. A man who, despite her better judgment, was somebody she had always loved. Her hand stroked his gently. "Under no circumstances will I be on life support. Unless it's something curable like pneumonia or something. I just don't want to be a burden to anyone."

"You're not a burden, mom. You never have been. You never will be."

She smiled softly. The smile faded. "You deserved a better childhood, Seeley. You deserved a normal childhood."

He leaned forward, elbows on knees. His face close to hers. "I'm beginning to think there's no such thing, mom. Everybody has their issues. Sometimes it's just what you do with the hand you're dealt."

"You're awfully philosophical, sweetie. Been spending time with that genius partner of yours, huh?"

"She hates psychology. I'm sure philosophy isn't too far off."

She squeezed her son's hand, simultaneously releasing Mike's.

A soft rap at the door. Both sets of eyes raised and watched as a young doctor, mid-thirties, brown curly hair and brown eyes entered the hospital room.

"I'm Dr. Sweeney. I'll be looking after Mike's oncological needs." She held out a hand. Booth gripped it and smiled. Anne gripped it and smiled.

Dr. Sweeney looked around for her stool. Booth realized it was under his own bottom. "Sorry," he raised to a half stand.

"No. No, keep it. I'll just stand. This will just take a minute."

Booth sat and held his mom's hand.

"This is my son, Seeley," Anne spoke.

"Nice to meet you. Anne, Seeley, Mike. Dr. Sweeney. Or Rachel if you like. We might be getting to know one another pretty well." She stood by Mike and checked his vitals. "Has he woken up at all?"

"Um, just for a minute. He wanted a sip of water." Anne.

"Good, good. Has he complained about pain at all?"

"Earlier this morning. A nurse came in and gave him something."

"Hydromorphone and morphine. That'll sedate him pretty good," the doctor smirked.

"I'll say," Booth muttered.

She looked him a question.

"I've been shot. A lot. Blown up, stabbed, burned..." This time a look of a amused disbelief. "I'm an FBI agent."

"Well, then I guess you and morphine have an intimate relationship."

Booth chuckled. "Yeah. I tried to bring her home to meet the parents, but that's when I realized that our relationship was watery."

"You're funny," she smiled. Then she became serious and pulled out the tablet in her hands. "Are you up to speed on your dad's condition?"

Mother and son exchanged looks, "Not... not really. Just lay it on me, doc. Tell me everything."

"Everything? OK, I'll just give you the low-down. Alcoholism is linked to a number of cancers. Most notably the larynx, colon, esophagus, and liver. Apparently your dad doesn't like doctors or scientists. So," she scanned the folder. "When your dad was admitted in May, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer. It wasn't long after that we discovered it had become Metastatic."

"What--What's that?"

She hugged the folder to her chest. "Metastasis involves spread of cancer cells through the bloodstream, or the lymph system. Distant, or metastatic spread generally occurs when cancer cells break off from tumors and enter the bloodstream, travel to other organs, and continue to grow into new tumors"

"So he basically had cancer all over the place when he came in," he finished with a resigned air, running one hand through his hair.

"I am so very sorry," Dr. Sweeney said sincerely. Then after a beat, "If you have any more questions on your father's condition, please feel free to call me. I make sure I'm always available for my patients and their families." She took out a card and handed it to Booth. Anne was crying into her sleeve by that moment.

Booth reached over and rubbed his mother's back slowly, quietly letting her sob. Rachel rose and walked toward the door.

"Wait," Booth said, turning to Dr. Sweeney.

She turned and looked over her shoulder.

"How... how long?"

"Weeks. Days. Not very long at all. I'm sorry."

Booth bit his lip and pulled his mother closer into a hug.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed this. I've had the writing bug, so expect more chapters shortly. Expect more Booth/Brennan interactions and Booth/Anne, Booth/Mike interactions. But best of all, expect some very sweet and tender moments. _


	2. Chapter 2

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part II**

Booth sunk lower into the waiting room chair. In his right hand was a cup of luke-warm hospital coffee.

He took a sip and grimaced. I take that back. Luke-warm and _burnt _hospital coffee.

Anne had gone home to take a nap before taking the night shift, leaving her son to watch over his father for a few hours.

His father was in his room having his colostomy bag changed and therefore he was not welcome. Mike Booth may have been dying, but he knew enough to save his son the embarrassment of that particular process. Not to mention, a very feisty older nurse quickly shoved him out of the room.

Either way, Booth had seen enough gruesome grossness in his twelve and a half year career to last him a lifetime. He wouldn't have stayed if someone had payed him. Nobody needs those memories to be among the last ones they have of their father.

The clocked on the opposite wall ticked-tick-ticked around its center point.

_"Woah! We're half way the-ere! Woa-oh! Livin' on a prayer!"_ A few nurses turned toward the phone that was making all of the racket. Bones had messed with his phone before the summer hiatus, switching his ring tone from its business-like preset tone to Bon Jovi's _Living on a Prayer_. An interesting choice of music. One which Booth didn't try to psychoanalyze. It wasn't much of a surprise. Bon Jovi, that is, wasn't a surprise. He knew that Bones was a closet 80s rock-a-holic. _"Take my hand, we'll make it I swea-ear! Woa-oh! Livin' on a prayer!"_

Nah. Brennan wasn't the type of woman who sent secret messages via musica to her partner.

"Sorry," Booth said, standing. "I'll just take this--" Glares all around. "Yeah."

He pressed the little green glowing phone button when he got outside. The summer sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon. So that would put it roughly at 7:30 PM.

"Hey, Bones."

Brennan was rolling a bag into the back of her car. She lifted it and placed it into the back of her Toyota. "Three rings?"

"Huh?"

"It took you three rings to answer." She slammed the back of her car.

"Sorry, Bones. I was in the hospit--a library." Nice recovery. And he knew it.

"Wait. No. You were going to say a hospital. Why are you at a hospital?" She climbed into the Toyota and started the engine. "Is Parker OK?"

"Yeah, yeah. Parker's OK."

"Rebecca?"

"Yeah."

"Jared?"

"Look, Bones--"

"It's your mom, isn't it?"

He couldn't help but to crack a smile, "No, Bones. It's not my mom."

"Oh." She had figured it out and Booth could tell from the way she uttered that syllable. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"How do you know it's not a broken hip or something? He's sixty-eight." Booth spotted a discarded cigarette that was still glowing on the sidewalk. He smudged it out, pressing one hand into his pocket.

Brennan backed out onto the main road and began to drive toward 295 South. "Taking into account the fact that he is an alcoholic, the fact that you left for your vacation two days early, and that you've been in a hospital ever since, I'd assume that it's something... serious. It is, isn't it?"

Booth turned toward the doors in time to see a woman in sweats and holding a tiny newborn being wheeled out by a nurse in Spongebob scrubs. The doors slid open. A bright-eyed husband pulled up in a Kia Sedona and ushered her toward the car excitedly. Such a stark contrast.

"Yeah. Yeah it is." Temperance Brennan. She never ceased to amaze him. One minute she was completely naive to the emotions and inner-workings of others. The next, she was reading him like some sort of anthropological book. "For someone who doesn't read people very well, Bones, you sure do pretty well at reading me."

Something in his voice made her do a U-Turn. "What hospital are you at?"

"Thomas Jefferson. Why?"

"Will you be there three hours from now?"

"Probably not. Bones, you don't have to come here."

"But I think I should."

"When does your flight leave?"

"It doesn't matter. Where are you staying?"

"Mom's."

She smiled, "And where exactly is 'Mom's'?"

"I'll text you directions. Bones, you don't have to do this."

"Who else will be there for you? Logically speaking, Booth, Jared is utterly dependent on you. You're probably comforting your mother through this all, and you need a friend." It didn't make too much sense to her. Even with all of her logic. But she had lost her own father once. She had lost her mother. How different would life have been if she had Booth as a friend when she was fifteen?

"Bones. I've got friends in Philly."

Silently, she replied, "But you don't have a Bones."

Booth smiled and shook his head. The sky lit afire as the sun disappeared, hitting the apex of the hills. "No. I guess I don't."

"I'll be there in a few hours."

* * *

_I may be 24, but I'm well aware of the fact that Bon Jovi rocks! If you haven't heard that song, go find it on YouTube or something. :D Wait until the chorus before you make any judgments! ;) tehehehe _


	3. Chapter 3

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part III**

It might sound impossible, loving someone that has hurt you your entire life, but it was a reality for Seeley Booth. And it was most definitely a reality for Anne Booth. With the only exception being that Booth loved his dad, and Anne was_ in love _with her ex-husband. She always has been. And it might be safe to say that nobody was more crushed when Anne and Mike divorced than Anne herself.

While Booth napped on his mother's couch, waiting for his partner to arrive, every dream was plagued with a dad-themed nightmare. Some were bitter-sweet. Others were just plain horrific.

When he was eleven years old, and still sadly pre-pubescent, his mother pulled in front of Mountain View Middle School in their old brown Station Wagon. Well, is old now, but it was nice then. Another one of those, "I'm sorry; I'll never hit you again" rewards from Mike.

It was a hot day in May, almost unusually warm, but Nan was wearing a long sleeved- turtle neck shirt. Large 80s-style frames obscured most of her face and her long hair was let down. She either looked like a bank robber... or a victim of abuse.

And he remembered it clearly. School was coming to a close. And Jared was being a pest. The boys ran out of the school, their Nike shoes, shoes that their family couldn't afford, but Mike insisted on purchasing, hit the pavement as they ran side by side arguing. One hitting the other. The other hitting back. Seeley gave Jared a good shove. He tumbled into the grass.

Seeley laughed. Jared was quick to call him the worst thing he could come up with at seven years old.

"Stupid head!"

That wasn't enough to provoke young Booth. "Yeah, well you're the reason we don't have a little sister. One look at you and mom said, 'No more kids!'"

Jared gritted his teeth and within seconds, the two boys had tackled one another on the front lawn of the Middle School. Parents and children who were waiting for buses split like the Red Sea, pointed, looked shocked. A few teachers began to move toward the tussling brothers.

Anne quickly jumped out of the vehicle and ran toward the boys. Her worst fears were coming true before her eyes. They saw their father hitting them and now they were passing along the violence. She tried not to think of that, though. It was too hard to think that she could have fault in how her sons were acting out by staying with their father.

"Stop!" She yelled. "Seeley! Jared! Knock it off now!" She jogged across the lawn and grabbed hold of Seeley's arm, since he was on top, and yanked him to his feet. "What are you doing?'

"You _are _the sister!" Jared shrieked at Seeley.

The elder brother wriggled out of his mother's grasp and pounced on Jared once again. All of the fury and rage over the past decade of his life were over boiling. "I hate you! You're stupid! And ugly!"

"_You're_ stupid!"

"You're a f-cking cunt!" Where had Seeley heard those words before?

"Stop! Stop right now!" Anne yelled. She grabbed hold of her son's arms. One hand on Seeley, the other on Jared. Somehow, Anne was knocked off balance with an elbow to the face. Sunglasses went in one direction, Anne went in another.

She fell backward and Booth knew immediately that he had caused physical pain to his mother. Such guilt. Such tremendous guilt. The self-proclaimed protector had become part of the violence.

He quickly got off his brother to help his mother.

She was on the ground. No more sunglasses to disguise the large black bruise that covered her left eye and most of her cheekbone.

And he realized what was beneath the sweater. Beneath a thick layer of synthetic fibers was a broken woman who was covered in bruises.

A knock at the door roused him from the dream. He sat up on the couch and ran hand through sleep-ruffled hair.

He opened the door for Brennan.

She stood in front of him wearing what she normally wears on a dig. Green cargo pants, a tank top, and white over-shirt.

"You didn't have to dress up for me," he teased, taking her bag.

She only smiled and pushed past him, "This is what I always wear on digs."

"What about Belize?"

Instead of sitting down, she began to look around the small living room. It was about as big as her bedroom. Smaller, actually. "Belize will wait. I'll email Professor Ruiz tomorrow. I wasn't going to be the only forensic anthropologist, anyway." She came across a photo on the mantle. Two boys. The oldest one, obviously Booth, was around eleven. Hair parted in the way that he parted it when they first started working together. Jared's hair was crew-cut. They looked like miniatures of themselves. "You were cute, Booth."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he muttered as he sat on the sofa.

She turned toward him, "What's wrong? I mean, besides the obvious."

For a moment, he pondered whether or not he should divulge more information about his past to Brennan. He shook his head, "Just can't sleep."

She sat beside him, photo in hand. "I'm sorry." What else could she have said? "Where's Anne?"

"Hm?"

"I wanted to finally meet her in person."

"She's at the hospital sitting with dad."

"She is?"

He looked up at her curiously.

"I just don't understand, I guess."

He laughed, "Me, neither."

"I thought they were divorced."

"Yeah, well, they are. Sometimes that doesn't make people stop loving each other." He rose and grabbed Brennan's bag. "You can take the spare room."

"What? It's only 10:30."

"Yeah. Bedtime."

She shook her head, "I'm a night-owl. I don't go to bed until one or two." Then she grinned, "You should show me around Philadelphia. Wanna get some drinks?"

He chuckled and pointed at her, "You know what, Bones? You're a girl after my own heart."

"Woman," she corrected him.

He just smiled as he led her out the door.

---

"You'll like this place, Bones. Trust me."

"I thought we were getting drinks."

"Well, as it turns out, there's something better than waking up with a migraine."

She stopped in front of the glowing sign, "Ice cream?"

"Bassett's, Bones." He opened the door for her.

She didn't budge. "It goes straight to my thighs," she muttered.

"Well, if it does, I've never noticed." Flirtatious smile.

She rolled her eyes slightly and they entered the ice cream parlor.

Even at a quarter after eleven, a few people were still ordering ice cream.

"I don't get it. Nutritionally speaking," she began.

"Bones, people don't always think about nutrition when they're having a sugar craving." He looked over at her. Her blue eyes were studying the menu. And he couldn't help but to smile. He had felt so lonely for the past week, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders once again. Just like when he was a child. It was like he was reliving his childhood all over again. And he hated it. Seeing his mom break down in front of him day after day. And he had to be the pillar. The only pillar. And it was far from easy. He was glad that Bones was there. Even if Belize had to wait its turn.

"Booth?"

He blinked.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm just glad you're here, Bones. You're right. I've been needing a friend."

She smiled back at him, "OK. Now, tell me what to get."

"Well, as it turns out, you can get your alcohol and eat it, too here."

"What?"

"Rum Raisin's my favorite, but Champagne Sorbet's pretty good."

She moved her eyes back to the menu. "I can't choose."

"How about, you get one and I'll get the other."

"I don't see how that solves my conundrum."

"Well, if I get one and you get the other, then you get to try both."

"Sounds like a deal."

* * *

_It's good to hear there's some Bon Jovi fans in the audience! ;) Thank you so much for reading!!! And Bassett's really exists. Those flavors just sound nummy, and I don't drink. hahaha  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part IV**

Their voices invaded his dreams. One minute, he was swinging on the rope. Back and forth, over the water and back to shore. And in the next, his mom and Brennan were walking through the woods, arm in arm, talking about banana bread ingredients.

"My gran always used fresh walnuts. She picked them and toasted them herself."

"When I was 27, I went on a dig in Cairo. The locals showed me how to toast locusts."

Anne laughed lightly, "You'll have to show me that particular skill some day."

"Locusts aren't as abundant in the states."

Booth's eyes fluttered open at the sound of his mother's laughter.

Brennan noticed him stirring. She walked over, banana bread muffin in hand, and sat beside him on the couch. "Muffin?"

"Thanks, Bones."

"Woah," she covered her nose. "Dinosaur breath."

"Dragon breath, Bones."

She looked confused. "Dragons are mythical beasts. Dinosaur breath makes more sense." Her eyes were teasing.

"I guess it does." He reached for the muffin. "Mmm. Good."

"Tempe helped me make them." Anne came in. She wore a worn pink bathrobe that tied below her ample breasts. She planted a solid kiss on Booth's forehead. "Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and a strange woman was in my kitchen."

Booth chuckled. "Sorry, mom."

"Eh. No matter. I just figured that you were picking up cute nurses."

"Mom. You have no idea how disturbing that whole scenario sounds."

"What? Nothing's disturbing about it. You're a handsome, successful man. All you need is love, right?"

"Mom, I'm not about to go picking up oncologists in the hospital where my dad--" His eyes met his mother's. "Never mind. These are good, Bones."

She smiled, "Thank you." Brennan's eyes momentarily traced her partner's muscular chest. They bounced back to his face. What? She's not dead.

Anne stood and smoothed her robe. "I need to go over that paperwork with you sometime today. I just-- would like to get it out of the way."

"We can do it now, Mom."

She looked between Brennan and her son. "I'm not so sure Tempe would feel too comfortable..."

"Mom, if you're alright with it, I'm sure Bones is. I tell her everything anyway."

"And visa versa," Brennan added.

Anne still looked uncomfortable.

"You know what, Booth? I think I'll just jump in the shower while I still have a chance. " She stood and left mother and son alone.

Anne laid her hand on Booth's knee. "I don't mind that you tell Tempe everything. I... I know it doesn't make any sense, but I feel more comfortable doing this alone."

"It's OK, Mom." He wrapped his arm around his mom and pulled her into a side-hug.

"Wooh! Tempe wasn't kidding, sweetheart. You smell like morning butt."

Booth laughed as he watched Anne cross the room. She came back holding a folder with her insurance carrier's name scrolled across. Her fingers shook ever so slightly as she took the paperwork from the folder. She laughed sardonically. "I hate doing this."

"Then don't."

Her hazel eyes lifted to his. "But it's something I need to do." She paused as she laid everything out on the coffee table. "My cardiologist--" She ran a finger under her nose and breathed deeply in and out. "My heart isn't healthy, Seeley. Not much of a surprise, I guess."

"Mom--" It _was _a surprise. Booth had had no idea that anything was at issue with his mom's health. Yes, she was overweight. But she always had been, as far back as he remembered. And, as far as he knew, she hadn't taken so much as a Bayer, let alone heart medication.

"I'm not lying or exaggerating, hun. Last year I was hospitalized."

"What?"

"I thought I was having a bad case of angina, so I saw my doctor. I had a heart attack. _Mild_. It was mild."

"What? Why didn't you say anything?"

"You were working--"

"I would've dropped everything, you know that."

"In London."

Booth sighed and ran a hand over his 5 o'clock shadow. "I would've come home, Mom."

Several seconds passed. Booth heard the water from the shower turn off.

"What do you want, Mom?"

"Did you know that half of all people die when they have a heart attack?"

"Mom--"

"And 85 percent of people who die from coronary heart disease are 65 or older." Her eyes followed a butterfly that fluttered on her geraniums outside the window. "I won't be one of those women who live to be a hundred. I really don't want to be, either. I don't want to be senile when I die." She sighed and looked back at her son. "I'd like to be able to say good-bye."

Their backs were to her, but Booth could feel Brennan's presence. She stood in the hallway, holding a towel to her hair.

"OK, Mom. What can I do?"

"Just make sure that my last wishes are respected."

"OK."

"I'll make a photocopy of this at the hospital. You just need to sign here and I'll need an alternate way that the hospital can contact you."

Booth sighed and took the pen from his mom's withered hand. He quickly signed the paperwork like his hand was on fire, like he was somehow signing away his mother's life. No life support. No oxygen. Just food and water.

Nan reached up and rubbed her son's back, her hand slipped around his neck and she pulled him close, kissing his cheek. "You don't have to do this."

"I'm the only one who can really do this. Knowing Jared, he'd probably keep you alive to reach that hundred-year mark." He chuckled. "Maybe you should have Jared do this after all."

"I don't think so." She laughed.

Brennan smiled from the hallway. It was heart-warming to see Booth and his mother together. She realized how much she had missed not having a mother of her own. But at the same time, it was painful knowing that Booth would soon be facing yet another death in his life. And he wasn't fifteen. He'd had more than thirty years to get to know his mother inside and out. In one way, that was good. In another, it sounded so much worse than losing her as a teenager. Losing someone who you had gotten to know as an adult just sounded so much worse for some reason.

She slipped behind the bedroom door to finish drying her hair.

* * *

_This is probably it for today, but I hope you liked all of the chapters. I don't know about you, but I like to read like a mo'. (Hmm... that's a line for Sweets!)  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part V  
**

"You can go in now," a shorter Latina nurse said to the couple who stood just out side of room 206.

"Thanks." Booth entered the hospital room with Brennan on his heels.

Mike was laying in bed. The nasal cannula hooked around his ears, his skin was blotchy with a purple/gray mottled tone. "Hey, boy," he said, breathing through his mouth as though he couldn't get enough air. "Who's the pretty girl?"

Booth smiled and put his hand behind Brennan's shoulder blades. "This is--" Quick decision. "Tempe, Dad." It sounded strange on his tongue, but it was the name she'd had his mother use.

Brennan held her hand out, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Booth." His grip was weak.

He breathed heavily, "Tempe. That's a strange name."

"It's short for Temperance."

"What kind of cock-and-bull name is that? Your parents name you after a dog?"

"Dad--"

Brennan's cheeks glowed for a split second, then the color dissipated. "It's OK, Booth." Then she addressed Mr. Booth, "What kind of name is Mike? Your parents obviously had the imagination of a six year old. Let's just hope you didn't inherit either of their IQs."

He wheezed a laugh, "I like her."

Booth smiled uncomfortably, "How've you been?"

"Dying. And you?" His voice was heavy and raspy.

"Nothing's changed in the last twelve hours, Dad."

"Except this beautiful young thing." He eyed Brennan like he hadn't just met her. "She your girlfriend?"

"This is my partner, Dad. You guys just met."

"Whatever you kids call it these days." He stopped to catch his breath._ "F-ck!"_ The exclamation came out of nowhere.

"What's wrong?"

"Hurts like a sonovabitch."

He reached for the call button and soon after a nurse came in. Her name tag read, _Jill H. RNA._ "How you doin', Mike? Need me to up your dose?"

"Yeah," he blurted.

Brennan walked to the little couch in the room and took a seat.

Once the pain had subsided, Jill disappeared and the three of them were left alone once again. They sat in silence for little more than a minute before Mike turned to his son. "How long you two kids been together?" He reached up and adjusted the cannula.

"A couple of years, Dad." Booth smiled and patted his dad's hand.

"Just a... bit of advice from your old man, son." Booth suppressed an eye-roll. Relationship advice from the man who drank and beat his wife. "Be each other's best friend." He took in several deep breaths. "And I know I'm not the one who... who should tell you about this stuff... but I think... that's what I did wrong with Nan." He took more deep breaths and squeezed Booth's hand. "I never let her in."

"I've... got to go to the bathroom, Dad." Booth pushed back the stool he was sitting on. It rolled across the room.

"I think that''s one right there," Mike gestured to a door.

"Not that one." He left the room quickly.

Brennan watched the whole thing with curiosity, then silently followed. In the hallway, she found Booth sitting on a folding chair. She walked over to him. He scooted over for her and together they sat on that one chair for several minutes. Nurses, doctors, and patients passed by silently. Brennan just watched the hallway activity without saying a word. Her partner sat beside her, his head in his hands.

"My dad hit my mom," Booth muttered resignedly into his hands. "He was actually trying to sell me advice. _Him_." He laughed humourlessly. "Of all of the people in the world. And you know what?"

Brennan leaned forward on her elbows to meet Booth's face. "What?"

"He was right, Bones." He nodded and shook his head slightly. " He was right."

"Is that bad?"

He shook his head again, his eyes distant. "All my life, I've tried to do whatever was opposite of what he said." He turned his face toward Brennan's. "I figured I was safe, you know. Nine times out of ten, if I did the opposite of whatever he said, I was in the right."

Brennan was silent. She knew that it was best just to let him talk it out.

"And I guess it's--" He looked at her again and smiled. "Illogical, but I don't want to do what he said, but I know he's right."

"About being friends with your wife?"

"Yeah." His eyes grew distant. "There wasn't a single day they didn't argue."

"We argue. And we're friends."

"It's different, Bones."

"How?" She was honestly curious.

Booth smiled warmly at Brennan, "We banter. We talk. We clash. We bounce ideas off one another. But we don't _hate _each other."

"Your parents hated each other?"

"I didn't see any love."

Brennan leaned her cheek on her hand. "They didn't love each other?"

"Mom loved Dad, but he never returned it. That's no relationship, Bones. That's one-sided. The best gift you can give your kids, Bones, is to love your spouse. Period. Everything else grows from there."

"What about Rebecca? You're not her spouse."

"Bones, I love Rebecca. I respect her."

"You love her?"

He sat back and rubbed his hands on his jeans. "Yeah, but I don't like her all of the time." He crossed his arms over his chest. "We make better friends than enemies."

"You mean lovers?" Her eyebrow tipped in the air.

"Nope, Bones. I said enemies, and I meant it. Whenever we were together, we fought. Parker didn't need for that to be his memory of us together. He deserves a better childhood than that."

Brennan measured that for a little while. "I can see that."

Booth stood. "Come on, Bones. I wanna show you something."

She stood, taking the offered hand and they walked out of the hospital.

Before the doors shut, Brennan could be heard asking, "Do you like me?"

Booth laughed, "Of course I like you, Bones!"

"No. I mean, do you like me as a person? As a friend."

"Bones, like is an understatement. I love who you are. Take anything away, and you're not you." He smiled at her. "C'mon, I know a shortcut."

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part VI  
**

Brennan followed behind Booth as he cleared away overgrown shrubbery.

"I'm being eaten alive."

"Huh?" Booth yelled back.

"The mosquitoes are attacking me. How much farther?"

"Just a few more feet. Trust me that it's worth the wait." He pushed back more branches, holding back some so Brennan could walk through.

"Korsakoff's."

"Krakatoa-_what?"_

"Your father. He either has Korsakoff's syndrome or Wernicke's disease."

They reached a sharp embankment. Booth side stepped down and held out his hand for Brennan to take. After she reached the shoreline, they walked side by side along the river. "What makes you think he has Wernicke's or Korsakoff's?"

Brennan smiled at him, "Besides the fact that you didn't mispronounce them purposefully?" Booth looked over at her and grinned. "He has the classic signs and symptomotology. Alcoholism followed by a memory disorder. He asked who I was twice in a minute."

He pushed his hands into his pockets, "You know what? You're not so bad with the living after all, Bones." They reached a spot that looked somewhat familiar to Booth. He began to climb through the weeds, leaving Brennan behind.

"Where are you going?" She bent down and folded up her blue jeans into capris and took off her boots, ready to take off after him.

"Just stay there!"

She sighed and stood, hands on hips waiting for something to happen.

A second later, Booth, swung through the dry and overgrown weeds wearing nothing but a pair of Mickey Mouse boxers and a huge boyish grin. The rope swing swung over the river and back again, then back over the river. "Wooooooh! Hooooo!" He let go of his grip and dropped into the water with a large _sploosh!_

Brennan froze when, after about a minute, Booth didn't surface. She took two steps toward the water, fully prepared to dive in, clothing and all. Then he came back up, shaking the water out of his hair.

"Come on in, Bones! There's plenty of water to go around!"

"If you think I'm going to strip to my bra and underwear and dive into that river, you're wrong, Booth!"

Booth laughed and came toward the shore. The weight of the water tugged at his boxers. He pulled them back up before they reached the point of no return. "C'mon, Bones. You'll love this."

"I'm not going."

"Are you shy?"

"I've lectured thousands of students at a time. I'm not shy, Booth."

"Then prove it."

She sighed and eyed the rope which had swung back to shore. "My underwear isn't exactly... appropriate swim attire."

"Bones, Bones, Bones..." He shook his head. "I promise I won't look."

"Of course you'll look. You're a man. I'm a woman."

"Yeah, I'll probably look." He grinned and grabbed the rope, then began to make it back up the hillock he had just swung from. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"What if... What if a troupe of boy scouts comes through the woods? That could destroy their innocence in one fail swoop." She put her hands back on her hips.

"Very few boys are innocent, Bones."

"That must make it difficult, having that kind of insight with Parker." A teasing grin.

"Now, why'd you have to go and say that?" He shook his head and grinned, then began to walk back up the hill. "Now hurry and take off your clothes. And I mean that in the most respectable way possible."

He disappeared, leaving Brennan to ponder what had just transpired.

She sighed, looked around nervously, then removed her shirt. She left it on a sun-warmed rock beside her boots. The jeans came off reluctantly. She weighed several scenarios before finally discarding the jeans beside the top. Good thing she'd been eating right and working out.

She walked up the steep embankment and began to push through the weeds and shrubbery. Booth was waiting. His classic cocky grin twisted his lips upward. "Took you long enough."

He pulled the rope closer to her. She took it in her hands anxiously, but didn't budge.

"You gotta stand on the rock, Bones." He nodded at the boulder that was at the base of a large oak.

"OK." She breathed in and out slowly before stepping onto the boulder. Booth helped her up, keeping his hands North of the Border. He showed her how to wrap her toes around the rope. "Now you just have to actually do it, Bones."

"I can't," she breathed. She regretted the words almost immediately. She wasn't one to say she couldn't do something. "It's ridiculous, I know."

"You don't like heights?"

"No. It's not that." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "This is going to sound stupid. I hate... I hate swimming in bodies of water where you can't see the bottom. It freaks me out."

"There's nothing at the bottom of this river, Bones. Jared and I have been swimming here since we were kids--"

"I know. I know there's nothing at the bottom. There might be trout or crayfish or something like that-- It's ridiculous."

"Bones. Do you want me to go first?"

"No. I can do this. I just need to clear my head." She closed her eyes and rationalized for a few seconds. Her eyes opened once again. "OK. I'm going to do this." Her fingers tightened around the rope. Then they relaxed. "Are you sure there's no rebar or fallen limbs?"

"Nothing like that, Bones." Booth looked up at her. He may or may not have let his eyes wander just a little bit. What? He's not dead.

She got off from the rock. "You go first. I'll aim for the spot that you fall in."

Booth shrugged and they exchanged places, with Bones on the ground and Booth standing on the rock. "When I was nine, Jared climbed this tree and tried to jump from the bough to the water. He missed."

"That's not very comforting, Booth."

"He was all right. Then the next day, I did the exact same thing."

"Why?" Brennan grinned at the thought.

"I had to show him how it was done right."

"Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Did you do it right?"

"Nope. I missed and broke my arm."

"Why are you telling me this, Booth?"

"But neither of us, Bones, were ever hurt swinging from the rope. See where I'm going with this?"

"It's convoluted, but I think I know where you're going."

Booth chuckled, "OK. One... Two... Three!" He pulled his feet up, his arms and chest flexed, the limb dipped under his weight, then Booth hit the water.

The rope came back just far enough for Brennan to grasp it at the top of the slope. She walked it back and mounted the boulder.

"OK..." She closed her eyes. No, that was way more unsafe than before. They reopened. "One... Two... Three!" Some things are best done when you don't think twice. She jumped. Arms flexed. She and the rope swung over the water, then back over the land. "I can't!"

"You can!"

She let her toes touch the top of the hill, then she walked the rope back a little farther and jumped again. This time she released when she swung out over the water. The cool clear liquid enveloped her. And nothing was under her feet except sand.

Booth swam up to her once her head reappeared from the water.

"What'd you think?" Booth asked.

"It was exhilarating!" She tipped her head back to smooth her hair back with the water.

"Wanna do it again?"

"Yes!"

"That's my girl!"

They swam up to the shore and repeated the process several more times. After the final swing, they both were swimming in the river, closer to shore.

"How'd you find this place?"

Booth swam up to her. "This was our escape."

She studied his face for a second. "Escape?"

"Yeah. Jared's and mine. Probably more mine than Jared's."

They walked onto shore and sat where the water and sand met and sat with their toes in the water. "What did you mean by escape?" From what Cam and Sweets had told her, she suspected the answer, but something inside of her made her want to hear the words from his own mouth. She wrapped her hands around her knees, grabbing her wrist with her thumb and forefinger. When Booth didn't answer, she prompted him. "Cam and Sweets said that your father was physically abusive. They weren't just referring to your mom, were they?"

Booth shook his head and looked over at her. "You're getting a sunburn, Bones." He stood and brought her back her shirt.

She stood up. "Now don't make fun of me." She pressed her hands to her breasts and water escaped from the padding and streamed down her stomach.

He couldn't help but to laugh. "Bones, you don't need it. You have a great body."

Now, that was a confusing comment. "Thanks," she murmured.

They stood in awkward silence for a moment.

Booth walked back through the woods and retrieved his clothing. He came back to a fully dressed Brennan.

"You never answered my question."

Booth nodded and put his shirt on. While he worked on his jeans and shoes, he spoke, "Dad didn't always hit Mom. He didn't hit _just _Mom, either."

"He hit you?"

"More like _beat _me." Booth sat down and put his bare feet in the water. He watched the light flicker off the surface in silence. After a second, Brennan sat beside him. She ran her fingers through her tangled hair. It had begun to dry in the warm sun, revealing the fact that she straightened it on a regular work day. "Your hair's curly, Bones." He smiled. "I like it."

"Well, wavy." She stuck her toes in the water beside Booth's. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

He laughed lightly, "If there's anyone in the world I _should _tell, Bones, it's you."

She looked a question at him.

"Have I ever told you that you're my best friend?"

"No."

"Well, you are, Bones." His eyes crinkled, then relaxed. He looked over the water. "He used to go after Jared first." He spoke slowly, pausing between sentences as memories rushed back to him. "He was so little then. Four years younger than me. I had to protect him. So I tried to make sure I was the target. Not him. I swore that if I ever got big enough, I'd strangle my father with my bare hands." He looked back over at her. "Now I'm bigger. And he's weaker. And the only thing I feel for the man is... pity. And love. But mostly pity."

"You love your father?"

"It doesn't make much sense, does it, Bones? But then again, you can relate. Someone who hurts you, abandons you, but you can't help but to love him despite all of his faults." He laughed a humorless laugh. "It's f-cking screwed up." He shook his head slowly, then looked back at Brennan. "You have a good dad, Bones. In spite of it all, there was never any doubt that he loved you back."

Brennan scoffed. "That's doubtful."

"No, Bones. When you told Max that you loved him. He always told you 'I love you' back." He paused. "When I was twelve, I told my Dad that I loved him."

"And...?"

"And the next day I had to tell my teacher that I fell into the door." He smiled. "Like I said, Bones. I pity him. Someone who has lived his entire life like that. I would _always _tell Parker that I love him."

"You're a good father, Booth."

With a teasing smile, he replied, "You've said that before."

"Well, I mean it."

They shared a long look. One of those patented, extended-warranty smiles. Then Booth stood, holding out his hand for her. "We should probably get back."

She hesitated. "Only if you promise we do this again."

He weighed it with false duality. Then he smiled. "Deal."

She put her hand in his.

* * *

_I'm really happy with how that turned out. _

_Did you all see the preview last night after the rerun for "Double Trouble in the Panhandle"? That'll be a fun episode! Yay for January 15th!_

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part VII  
**

Later that evening, Booth was napping on the couch in his father's hospital room. His feet were propped on a little coffee table. Brennan's legs were over his lap, her head resting on the arm of the sofa. Mike was asleep, fully sedated with pain meds.

She felt some movement, but kept her eyes closed.

A second later, she heard two men talking just outside of the door in serious tones. She shifted to face the door, realizing that Booth had disappeared. She stood and crossed the room to the door, leaving it just cracked enough to look into the hospital's hallway.

Booth and Jared stood toe-to-toe. Jared had obviously been drinking and his arm was wrapped around a scantily dressed date. Jared was the least dressed up Brennan had ever seen. His hair was long and shaggy. He wore jeans and a tee-shirt.

"Nice to see you've finally decided to show up," Booth said to his brother.

"Hey, at least I showed up. Give me some credit, OK?"

"Where were you?"

"I was working, Seeley. Imagine that?" Sarcastic.

Booth shook his head, "It took you more than a week to finally show up at your own father's hospital room?"

"Hey, don't tell me what you think I've done wrong, Seeley. I'm a grown man now."

Booth puffed air through his lips in a way that conveyed his disbelief.

"What the hells' that supposed to mean?"

Jared's date began to look uncomfortable, "I'm just gonna go to the little girl's room." She jogged down the hall in her stiletto heels.

"Damn. She looks as good going as she does coming, huh?" Jared grinned, then looked back at his older brother. The look on Booth's face made his grin disappear. "What?"

"Your father's dying and you not only take your time showing up, but you pick up a prostitute on your way?"

"Hey, hey, _hey!_ Tanya's _not _a hooker. She's a working professional."

"A working professional _stripper_."

"Just mind your own damned business, Seeley. We've both got our own priorities. I've got Tanya and you've got that partner of yours."

Booth gritted his teeth. "You leave Bones out of this."

"Leave _Tanya _out of this."

"You're the one who brought her into this. Instead of coming to Philly, you took her to a motel or the back seat of a van or whatever you did."

"You're crossing a line, brother. A fine line."

"Every night for almost two weeks I've been sitting with Dad, Jared. The least you could've done is taken time out of your busy schedule and come sit with Dad. Give Mom a break. Give me a break."

"You've always been the archangel, haven't you? The shining star." Jared's voice was more than just sarcastic. "Seeley the good son."

"No. You've got that wrong."

"Have I? I lost my f-cking job, Seeley. Now I nail two-by-fours together for a living. Do you know what Dad said when I told him?" He paused for dramatic effect. "He said, '_Figures_.' Like he's been waiting his whole life just to see me screw up. I guess he got his dying wish."

Booth didn't answer for a few seconds. His eyes followed Tanya as she came back down the hall and wrapped her arm around Jared's waist. Jared wrapped his arm around her neck and planted a kiss on her lips. "It's not about us any more, Jared."

"Then who's it about?"

"Right now? Mom." Booth put his hands on his hips and shook his head. His eyes settled on Brennan for a moment, then he looked back at Jared quickly before he noticed. "You can't live your life like this, Jared. Selfishly. Mom's breaking apart. I can't be the only damned pillar. I need my brother."

Jared just looked at him. Finally he sighed. "Fine. Where's Mom?"

"Home."

"Think she's up?"

"Probably not."

"Do you think she'd mind if we bunk up at her place?"

Booth shrugged and smiled. "The more the merrier."

He put his arm around Jared and they walked toward the door. Brennan back-stepped away, leaving room for the door to swing.

Jared's gaze settled first on his father. He still slumbered, his purple lip hung from his face, bearing yellowed teeth. Then he saw Brennan. "I didn't know you were here." And for a moment, he felt foolish and wondered if she had heard his comments.

"Booth needed a friend, considering that he was _alone _with your parents for so long."

"Bones--"

"It's OK, Seeley. Dish it out however you want, Tempe. I can take it."

"OK." Brennan shrugged. "I think you're an inconsiderate jerk."

"Ah. Now I'm a loser _and _a jerk."

Booth was the confused one now. "She never called you a loser."

"Oh, I did," Brennan said confidently. "The last time I spoke to your brother, I called him a loser and pushed him off a bar stool."

"Oh."

"I should've broken his nose, but there were too many witnesses." Brennan crossed her arms over her chest and stared Jared down coldly. "And unlike a certain somebody, I think about the consequences of my actions before I actually act."

"You're a piece of work, Tempe," Jared muttered.

"Hey, be respectful to my partner," Booth interjected angrily.

"Fine. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk to Dad."

"Well, he's asleep, but if you want, you can take call dibs on tomorrow. Maybe Bones and I can grab some lunch."

"Fine." Jared turned around, kicking the door as he exited.

"See ya later," Tanya said apologetically, then she trotted out after Jared, her brown hair bouncing as she went.

Booth turned toward Brennan when they were out of sight. "I don't know about you, but _they're_ sleeping on the pull-out. It feels like concrete."

Silence grew between them before Brennan decided to ask a question that had been pressing her. "Does Parker know?"

"About Dad?" He answered the question quietly. "No."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't know my Dad very well. I never wanted him to."

"Because of what he did?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"I don't know, Bones. I guess I never... I didn't want to be responsible for-- You know, if..."

"If he ever abused Parker, you'd feel responsible. Even though he's been bedridden for the last several months."

"I know what you're going to say. It's not rational, right?"

"Sometimes you can't be rational when it comes to the safety of your children."

Booth smiled at her. She was leaning against the door frame with her toes against the opposite side. He had his head against that door frame with his toes against the one her head was resting against. "That was beautiful, Bones."

"You're either being ironic or sarcastic. I can't tell which." She cleared her throat. "But _I _was being anthropological."

"How's that, Bones?" He grinned. "Wait, you're going to name off some African tribe that sacrifices to their gods or something like that, right?"

"South American."

He laughed. "Come on. Maybe if we beat Jared, we can make sure we get the bedroom."

She shot him a look.

"I'll take the floor, don't worry."


	8. Chapter 8

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part VIII  
**

Jared was five when it happened. Booth was about to turn ten. It was a memory that had become turned over and forgotten so many times that it only came back to him when he was especially stressed out or anxious.

Anne had become pregnant with her third son soon after Jared's fourth birthday. Frightened and happy were the operative words. It described every feeling that churned inside of her. Caught in a marriage that was loveless and violent, bringing a third child into the household was the last thing she wanted. But she never wanted this to happen to her son.

He remembered walking through the hallway of the hospital. His grandmother made him hold Jared's hand, which was really embarrassing for an almost-ten-year-old. He could still practically smell the polyester. Even in his dreams. It was the spring of 1979 and Kevin was less than a day old.

Outside of his mother's hospital room, his grandmother stooped and straightened each of the boys' over-sized 70s style collars and licked down one of Jared's cowlicks. Seeley laughed. But his laughter was cut off by his grandmother licking her hand and slicking it across Seeley's head, which caused Jared to start giggling.

"Quiet now. Your mama's still pretty tired." She stood and knocked on the door. A second later, the door was opened by Mike. A much younger, livelier version of the 2009 version of real life.

"Come on in, boys." He ushered them in. His mother was breastfeeding a tiny little infant.

She looked up and smiled, tucking back a lock of red hair. She was much thinner that year. Her pregnancy with Kevin was not what one would consider routine. Every day was a struggle to keep down enough fluids and food to keep her growing infant alive and thriving. Most of the pregnancy was a blur. Neither Jared nor Seeley had seen much of their mother. She spent the last four months of her pregnancy at the local women's hospital on IV fluids.

"Woah. He's so little!" Jared marveled. He climbed up onto the bed to get a closer look.

Mike grabbed his arm and snatched him down roughly. "Hey, what'd I tell you? Your Mom doesn't need you crawling all over her."

Both the sharp tone of his voice and the brusqueness in which he snatched Jared down caused the boy to coddle his arm and cry in the corner of the room.

Seeley, learning from his brother's mistakes, was much more careful. He stood on his toes and looked on from a distance, only really seeing the tip of Kevin's pink nose and two chubby pink cheeks.

"What do you think, baby?" Anne smiled at her oldest son.

His eyes were wide. "He's cute."

"He looks like you when you were first born."

Mike looked over Nan's shoulder. "I don't know. He's a little cuter than the other boys." Mike Booth wasn't one for holding those kinds of opinions to himself. Regardless of whether or not they would cause emotional harm.

Seeley was used to those kinds of comments. They didn't phase him. He was used to people saying that Jared was adorable. He was cute. So well behaved compared to his older brother. Nothing new under the sun. "Can I hold him, Mom?"

"No," Mike answered. "You're too little, son." He ruffled Seeley's hair. And for a moment, everything was perfect. They were a normal, everyday, American family of five.

Two weeks later,Seeley was in the kitchen doing his homework. Nan was working on dinner with Kevin on her hip. The Frigidaire was Bud-free.

Mike came through the door at ten minutes to five. He crossed the room to the refrigerator. As usual, Seeley's stomach twisted in his gut. So did Anne's.

"Where the hell's my beer, Nan?"

"I was just about to go out."

"F-ck me. You always wait until the last damned minute. You're so f-cking selfish, Nan."

Postpartum depression and hormones are bad enough without a Michael Booth in your life. She'd gone through this scenario about a hundred times before. Mike usually went through a pack of Bud a day, so it was a daily purchase. And with a fresh vertical C-Section wound and three young boys, it seemed to be a scenario that repeated itself more than once a week.

She began to cry.

Mike slammed the door and took Kevin from Anne's arms. "You've got all damned day to do one simple thing." But that wasn't the only thing he required of her. A spotless house. No dishes. No laundry. Hot meals served at a certain time each day. Sexual intercourse within days of childbirth, despite the doctor's suggestions and Anne's pain. "One f-cking simple thing. Stop your damned crying, Nan!" Kevin began to cry at his father's harsh voice.

Anne crossed the room silently, grabbing her jacket and purse on her way out.

"She pisses me off, Seeley. Do yourself a favor and don't marry a lazy woman. She's always feeding me bullshit by the heaping tablespoon. She's about as useful as a a one-legged man in a kicking contest. F-cking bitch."

The baby continued to cry.

"F-cking shut the hell up! F-ck!"

Kevin cried louder.

Seeley stood up and walked toward his father. "Can I take him?"

"No, you can't take him," he replied in a mocking tone. "What are you? Growing f-cking ovaries, Seeley? Do I have to go buy you a bra now for your tits?"

"Dad, I can do it. He stops crying when I hold him."

"Get the f-ck outta my face. Go to your room. _Now!"_

That's where the memory ended. And he was glad. Because he knew what came next. Ten minutes later, Anne came through the door and her world had been turned upside down. To anybody that asked, Kevin Booth died of SIDS. Mike told the nurse that Kevin went to sleep in his crib and never woke up. That was a lie and everybody knew it. Except the nurse. A bright-eyed, straight-out-of-college young woman who had done her research. She heard about this new thing. SIDS. And Kevin Booth fit the bill.

Anne knew better.

Seeley knew better. He knew that his Dad did something to hurt his baby brother. But accusing him of such a thing would probably tear his family apart. And if it didn't, then that would make him the victim of another attack by his father.

That spring day in 1979 became another part of the plague of silence. Don't talk about Dad hitting Mommy. Don't tell anybody where your bruises really came from. And never mention Kevin's name again.

"Wakey, wakey! Eggs and bakey!!!" Jared's voice. Lots of jostling. Booth's face hit the mattress several times. Brennan's toes kept bumping against his nose.

Both she and Booth turned onto their backs and looked up to see Jared in his pajama bottoms jumping on the bed. He stopped when he realized he'd woken up the partners.

Jared grinned. "Welcome to the land of the living, love birds!"

It was obvious that Brennan and Booth weren't in bed romantically. Heads were in opposite directions and both were wearing pajamas. But Jared thought it was a hoot.

Brennan grabbed a pillow and threw it at Jared. "Go away!"

"Hey, that's not the way you talk to your little brother, Tempe."

This time it was Booth's time to talk. "You're playing with fire, Jared. Bones knows martial arts."

"Three kinds," Brennan clarified.

Jared raised his arms in feigned surrender. "I know when I'm beat. Wouldn't want Tempe to push me off the bed or anything."

Booth took the opportunity, pushing his brother's leg. Jared stumbled off the bed, falling into the wall and laughing hysterically.

When Jared had closed the door, Brennan got up and put her head next to Booth's. "How'd you sleep?"

"Whatever's the opposite of 'a log'."

Brennan's brows squished together. She didn't understand. Then the brows raised. "Oh. You slept poorly. Was it because of me? Do I kick?"

Booth rubbed his eyes. "No, Bones. Just... bad dreams."

"What about?"

"About my brother."

"Jared?"

Booth smiled and looked at her. Sleep-rumpled. Her hair was still wavy, but out of place. She looked cute. "Who else would I be talking about?"

"I don't know." She'd meant for it to be rhetorical, to get him to talk more.

"Kevin."

"Kevin?"

"My Mom gave birth to him when I was ten." He got up, out of bed and walked to his suitcase. Brennan watched him look for an outfit to wear. He smiled and looked over at Bones. "I'm only telling you this because I haven't slept for two weeks. You know, purge the demons." She didn't reply. He breathed in deeply. "He died when he was two weeks old. He looked just like me."

"I'm so sorry. How'd he die?"

"Shaken Baby. Calling it a syndrome is a joke."

Brennan sat up. "Who-- Who...?"

"My Dad wasn't a good man, Bones." He smiled. "If I were you, I'd get in a shower before Jared does. He tends to stay in there 'til the water runs cold." He left the bedroom, leaving Brennan alone. Stunned. Then he popped his head back in and grinned. "By the way, you look cute, Bones."

She smiled, put her feet to the carpet, and gathered her clothing.

* * *

_Thanks for the reviews! I love reading what parts you all enjoyed. I don't mind quoting. In fact, I enjoy it. Thanks, everyone! :D_


	9. Chapter 9

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part IX  
**

Brennan's feet hit the tile. She dried off quickly and dressed. A long shower had given her time to think. And the more she thought, the more she listed questions in her mind. When she made it into the kitchen, a strange mixture of scents flooded her senses. "What's that?"

Anne turned around and smiled. "Eggs and bacon."

Brennan smiled. Apparently 'wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey' wasn't just a phrase.

Booth looked up and flashed her a grin, "Morning, Bones."

"How'd you all sleep?" Anne asked. She sat down a bowl of scrambled eggs next to the plates of bacon and pancakes.

"I slept good, thanks," Tanya said. All eyes went to her. It seems that everyone had realized that she hadn't said a word all morning.

Jared chuckled and leaned back, putting his arm around Tanya. "No, you don't have to lie to Mom, Tanya." Then he looked at Anne. "That pull-out felt like a two-ton brick of cement."

"Concrete." Booth and Brennan corrected him in unison.

Jared stabbed a blob of eggs and lifted his fork to his mouth. "Well, it's no wonder why you two were so willing to share a bed."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Booth asked calmly.

"Oh, come on, Seeley. You two act like you've got Syphilis or something. I'm surprised you didn't paint a yellow stripe down the center of Mom's antique quilt." The eggs were shoveled in.

"I don't think Anne would be very happy if we did that," Brennan said.

A second passed. Jared studied her expression."Is she serious?"

Booth didn't reply to that. "It's not the first time Bones and I have shared a bed."

All forks froze in mid-air. Except Brennan's. "These are delicious eggs, Anne."

"I'll have to share the recipe with you, sweetie. What did you mean, Seeley?" Anne's voice sounded distant.

"Under cover, Mom. Vegas. And another time this last January."

"Oh," Anne began to breathe and all tension released from her face. "I thought I'd have to have the birds and bees talk with you again." She laughed.

"I don't know, Mom. You might have to have that talk, yet with these two." Jared.

Booth glared at him and flicked an egg across the table. "You're a riot, Jared."

"Look at that. Eggs from the brother who _sucks _eggs!" Jared flicked an egg back.

"Boys!" Anne scolded them, although her voice hinted at the fact that she was joking. And that she loved having her sons together under one roof.

"Well!" Jared stood, clearing his throat. "Tanya and I have the first shift of the day. You relieving us at two?" Anne nodded. "Alright. Thanks for breakfast, Mom."

Anne stood and kissed Jared's cheek. She hugged Tanya, "Nice to meet you, Tanya."

"You, too, Mrs. Booth."

"No. It's Armstrong. But I'd prefer it if you just call me Anne."

"Anne."

While Anne let the two out, Brennan leaned close to Booth. "Does your mom realize that your father may have caused Kevin's death?"

Booth put his elbows on the table. "I don't know, Bones. Besides, I was ten. I could've remembered it all wrong."

She thought this over. "Would your mom allow me to do an exhumation?"

"Bones. You don't just go around unburying painful memories. It's in the past now. Dad's about to die. My Mom's at peace with Kevin's death."

"But I could prove whether or not it was fowl play. If he truly died from Shaken Baby then it might--"

"No. It's not a good idea, Bones."

"But if it was SIDS then it might bring closure. From my own experiences, I've come to appreciate value of closure."

"But if it doesn't bring closure, then it'll just bring to surface a million terrible memories for my Mom."

Anne walked into the room, cutting the conversation short. "What are you two talking so seriously about?"

"Just work stuff, Mom."

"Well, why don't you put that stuff on hold while you're here?" She took a seat and poured coffee into her mug. "Tanya seems like a nice young lady. I don't care much for her line of work, but I like to think that everyone has a bit of good in them."

"I personally have no problems with her profession. She's an entertainer. The American version of the Geisha." Brennan sipped her coffee.

"My sisters would've liked you, Tempe."

"Are they no longer alive?"

"Catherine went to be with God last summer. She was seventy."

"I'm so sorry."

"We all have to die eventually." She smiled weakly. "I just miss her from time to time." She cleared her throat and wrapped her fingers around her mug. "And Beatrice lives in Oregon. The last time I saw her was... in 1979." Her eyes settled on the table cloth and her countenance reflected the sadness that came from that comment. "It was at a funeral," she added softly.

"Kevin's?"

Booth squeezed his eyes shut. Anne looked up at Brennan sharply. "What did you say?"

"It was Kevin's funeral, right?"

"Bones," Booth whispered harshly.

Anne pushed back her chair quickly. The chair screeched along the floor. "I can't believe you, Seeley." She walked out of the room and closed her bedroom door with a thud.

"What did I say?"

Booth stood up without answering Brennan's question. He crossed over to his mother's bedroom door and knocked. "Mom. Mom, I'm sorry. Please open up."

"Just go away," she murmured from within.

"Mom, please."

"You _swore_, Seeley."

"Mom, you're being silly." He knocked and tried the handle. Locked. "Mom!"

"I'm not senile, Seeley. I know I'm being ridiculous. I just don't want to see you right now."

Booth sighed and rested his back against the door. He bounced his head against the door a few times, then his eyes fell on Brennan. She was standing beside the table. She looked hurt. Surprised. Annoyed. Confused. "Mom, I told Bones because... I trust her with my life." No reply. "And... I trust her with everything in between." No reply. "Just let me in, Mom."

Brennan walked up to him and leaned her shoulder against the door. "Did you mean that?"

"What?"

"Do you really trust me with your life... and everything in between?"

"Yeah. I do. We're partners." He reached out and slid his hand along her arm, his fingers slipped into hers. He squeezed them. Before the heat had a chance to build, he let go. "Mom didn't want me to tell anyone about Kevin."

"Why didn't you respect her wishes?"

"I had to tell somebody, Bones. I can't keep reliving these things. Memories of Dad. Memories of Mom, Jared, Kevin. There's nobody I trust more in this world with these things than you."

Their eyes locked, then faltered.

"Anne?" Of course there was no reply. Brennan looked up at her partner. "Booth only told me about Kevin because he needed to... purge his demons. He didn't mean to hurt you. I know your son fairly well. He is good and decent. I don't think he would ever purposefully hurt you."

"Thanks, Bones."

The door opened and Booth embraced his mother tightly.


	10. Chapter 10

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part X  
**

"From an anthropological perspective, strippers, prostitutes, and other--"

"I'm not a prostitute, sweetheart."

"Of course not. What I'm saying is that, for _some _men, emotional bonds are only strengthened when sexual bonds are forged with other women. Or, in your case, simply watching a woman dance around a pole, might bleed sexual surplus, therefore keeping the bond between the monogamous man and the woman strong."

Tanya took a pack of Virginia Slims from the back pocket of her cut-offs. She flicked the butt of the cigarette a few times before putting it in her mouth. "I don't know what the hell you just said, sweetheart. You lost me a long time ago."

"You really shouldn't smoke cigarettes. They can cause a plethora of cancers."

"I'm not afraid to die. Cancer's a hell of a lot less scarier than getting hit by a bus or getting murdered, am I right?" She lit the cigarette, took a long drag and looked over at Brennan.

Brennan measured this comment for almost a full half-minute before responding, "Technically, I'd say that you're right. I'm a forensic anthropologist--"

"A what?"

"A scientist. I identify decomposed human remains when traditional methods are no longer useful--"

"That answers a few questions I've had about you," Tanya laughed.

"Anyway, I've seen what humans can do to one another in a fit of rage or jealousy, and I agree with you. I'd rather die from cancer than by murder or some horrendous accident." Brennan hugged her knees and readjusted her bottom on the rocks.

A second later, Booth swung through the brush. "Wooo! Hooo! Hoo-wee!" He let go of the rope and dropped into the water with a huge splash.

"Your man's got quite a body on him." Tanya blew out some of the smoke from her lips.

Brennan scrunched her nose and waved it away from her face. "Oh, no. Booth and I aren't-- We're not--"

"Don't lose your shirt, Tempe. I didn't call Seeley your boyfriend. I said _man_." She raised an eyebrow and looked over at Brennan, who looked somewhat flustered.

A moment later, Jared swung through the brush, released and dropped into the water.

"So, what is it with you two? Mind if I ask?" Tanya said.

"I don't understand the question."

Tanya laughed. "You're really like this, aren't you?"

"Like what?"

"That's why Seeley likes you. You're funny. No, seriously. Are you all 'we're just partners' on the outside, but all hot and heavy when the lights go out?"

"I don't feel comfortable discussing this with you."

"Well, if he's anything like his brother is in the sack--"

Brennan stood up, "I'm going to have my turn on the rope swing."

"Sure, sure." Tanya watched Brennan walk out of sight. She laughed as she walked away.

Booth got out of the water. "Hey, Bones."

"Hi."

"I want to show you something."

"OK."

Booth led Brennan around the bend in the river, where the water was smooth and slow. He picked up a rock. "What you need is a rock that's shaped like this one. See how it's kind of flat and round?"

"Yes."

"Watch this." He grinned, took his stance, pulled back his arm, and let the rock sling-shot out of his hand. It skipped across the water three times before finally falling beneath the surface. _Sploonk!_

"You realize that this is science, don't you?" Brennan grinned. She picked up a rock that fit the description that Booth had just given her.

"Nah," Booth said. Although, he knew that it was.

"The rock bounces off from the water because of surface tension. I actually read an article on this in the Jeffersonian Magazine a few years back."

"They _wrote _an article on _this_?"

"They take science very seriously. Even the most mundane of events is article-worthy."

"Apparently. Now pull your arm back. Like this." Booth modeled for her. She tried to match, but failed.

"According to the author, the physics for rock skipping depend on the stone's diameter, velocity, mass, tilt, angle of attack, and the density of the water." She pulled back her arm, released the rock. It fell beneath the surface on first contact. She looked defeated and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"Bones, Bones, Bones." He grinned that cocky grin. "I'd put my money on it that the guy who wrote that article couldn't skip a rock of his life depended on it. Some things are more than science. Some things are all about experiencing them." He walked toward her, and took her hand. "Now, I'm not coming on to you. Try to resist my charm." She rolled her eyes, but her comment and breath caught in her mouth as soon as his hand touched hers. He pulled it back. "You have to throw it at a bit of a side-ways angle." He showed her how to throw it. "About at this speed. It doesn't matter what that scientist guy said, it's all about technique."

He let go. She pulled her arm back. Released. The rock skipped twice and dipped beneath the water. "I did it." There was surprise in her voice. Then she said with more confidence, "Of course I did it."

"Well, you did have a great teacher. See, Bones? I can teach you stuff. You can teach me stuff. This is how this partner thing works!" He was thoroughly pleased with himself.

"I don't know, Booth. There are always flaws in ones' techniques."

"Not mine, Bones. I'm the Rock Skipping Champion of the World. Ask Jared."

"Was this one of your summertime activities?" She took a seat on a rock, her feet in the water.

Booth took a seat beside her. "We got pretty good at it. Jared almost beat me for the title, but in the end, it was clear who the true RS Champ was."

"You?" Brennan asked teasingly.

"Hey! I still have the trophy to prove my awesomeness."

"There was a trophy?"

Booth laughed. "I hot-glued a rock to an old baseball trophy."

Brennan looked at him teasingly. "Wow. That's simply amazing, Booth. You are _such _an Alpha Male. A true specimin of manliness." To say that that whole sentence was dry on sarcasm is to say that Dolly Parton should go up a size.

Booth pushed his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "Sarcasm. Nice, Bones. Real nice. You should do Stand Up." He took a few steps back toward the water.

Brennan noticed. "Where are you going?"

"It's hot, Bones. Are you hot?"

"The weather is unseasonably war--"

Booth cut off her diagnosis of the weather with a cold splash of river water. Brennan sucked in a sharp breath, "Ah!"

When she had finished drying her face with her shirt, she eyed Booth with a look of calculated determination.

Booth started laughing and stumbling backward. Then the laughter stopped when he realized that he had truly made a mistake. "No. Bones. You don't know what you're--Bones! No--No--No--No--NO!!!"

She jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his torso and throwing him off balance. It's not like the man had never dreamed of the scenario before. Admittedly, neither one were clothed and there was a soft bed to catch his fall in those particular imaginings. In this case, Booth was wearing swimming trunks, Brennan was fully clothed, and a cold riverbed was there to cushion their fall.

"Bo--" She dunked his head under water. "--nes!" Another dunk. "Bo--" Another dunk. "nes!" At that moment in time, Booth realized something. He was playing nice. Because she was a 'girl'. He also realized something else. There was no need to play nice with Temperance Brennan. She was trained in martial arts. She'd killed a man before. _And _a woman!

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Booth shifted his weight so that he was on top of her and she was the one being dunked. She clawed at him. Booth laughed. Payback.

Jared and Tanya looked on in horror. Maybe those two shouldn't be together after all. Or maybe they should. Sexual tension much?

Brennan squirmed out from beneath him and splashed him one last time. The movement of her arm brought a sharp pain up the back of her arm. "Ow." She twisted her arm to get a better look.

"Bones. Are you hurt?"

"Yes, I'm hurt. You just _attacked _me."

Booth walked through the water up to her. "Let me."

She drew in air sharply through her teeth, denoting the pain that his touch caused.

"Sorry, Bones." A large scratch spanned the length of her arm, armpit to elbow. He looked up at her. Soaked from head to toe. He chuckled.

"What? Are you proud of yourself?"

"You know what, Bones? _You _attacked _me_. Not the other way around."

She pulled her arm out of Booth's hands. "See that's where you're wrong. _You _attacked _me_."

"As I recall, I was minding my own business and you took me down. Out of nowhere. _Bam!"_

"There's a fault in your logic, Booth. You forget about the loophole."

"What loophole?"

Brennan walked past him, then turned around. "I'm a girl. An innocent girl." She grinned and turned, walking out of sight.

Booth put his hands on his hips, shook his head, then jogged after her. "You are far from innocent, Bones!"

* * *

_Thank you for the reviews. I'll be looking after my mom tonight, so hopefully I'll get a chapter up tomorrow. I really appreciate all of you for reading and reviewing!_


	11. Chapter 11

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XI  
**

At some point in our lives, we are too grown up to have nightmares. Instead, we just have memories that plague us, destroy our peaceful slumber, keep us from thinking good thoughts and flying on pixie dust.

Booth woke up.

It was still dark in the room. The whole house was asleep. Brennan's legs were tucked up against his stomach.

He lay still for ten or more minutes, trying to go back to sleep. Instead, the more he tried to go to sleep, the more he thought about it. He sat up and walked quietly out of the bedroom, down the short hallway, past his sleeping brother and Tanya. The full moon was glowing on her naked back. Jared had his arm around her.

In the kitchen, he ran the water for a few seconds then filled a white mug to the brim. Then he walked back into the bedroom. Brennan was asleep on her stomach.

He walked up to her and knelt beside the bed. It was not the first time he'd done anything like this, so he didn't hesitate when he smoothed her hair behind her ear.

She didn't stir.

So he leaned close and kissed her cheek.

She breathed in and sighed. She didn't stir any more than that. So he didn't either. He couldn't help but to think how lucky he was to find such a wonderful woman. Even if it wasn't a romantic relationship, it was still fulfilling. They were friends and colleagues. And sometimes he couldn't help but to think that maybe it was something else. Something more.

"Booth," she whispered, not opening her eyes. His heart leapt into his throat. "Why are you staring at me?" Her eyes opened.

He smiled, trying not to look as foolish as he felt. "Did I wake you?"

At least five smart-ass retorts ran through her mind, but she remembered his lips touching her cheek and she replied,"I don't mind." He didn't say anything, so she whispered, "Why are you awake?"

He took in a deep breath. Released it. Ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know what it is about this place, Bones. Things I haven't thought of in years seem to be all that I dream about any more."

"Nightmares?"

"I prefer the term, 'Disturbing dreams.'"

"Tomato potato," she replied.

Booth laughed.

"What were you dreaming about?"

"This time? There was this place-- you know, the swimming hole was seasonal-- in the crawl space under the house. I'm surprised I don't have some disease from inhaling insulation dust." He could feel the skin prickling on his scalp and across his arms. "Even if we were in there, we could hear everything. Pots and pans falling. Mom crying. Dad yelling. Things that go bump in the night." His eyes crinkled at the attempt at a joke. It didn't last long, though. His face dropped into that serious look that Brennan had only seen on a few occasions. When things became too personal. Too frightening. "I can't count how many times I took Jared down there. I wanted to take Mom, but it really came down to Jared or Mom. And Jared was smaller. I couldn't be the hero, Bones. Not if I wanted to."

She didn't know what to say to that. Should she offer up something of herself? Seconds passed. "I... always dream about my first foster mother. She was a nice woman, but she had too many foster children on her hands. It wasn't home. I always dream about waking up on Christmas morning and I come into the living room and Russ is there. I never dreamed about Mom or Dad being there. Maybe even my dreaming mind was too logical to pretend... even for one moment, that they could be alive." She seemed hurt by the realization. "Is that terrible of me?"

"Bones," he touched her face gently. "That's not terrible. Nothing you could ever do would be terrible in my eyes."

"You know... you don't have to be the hero all of the time."

He looked saddened. Distant. "Some things we can't help, Bones."

"Nature versus Nurture," Brennan said thoughtfully. "You were nurtured to be a protector." She paused. "I admire that in you."

They shared a long, deep look. She scooted over and pulled back the covers. Brennan never did anything without thinking about it first. It was far from being a spur-of-the-moment decision. That wasn't like her. And he knew that. So he slipped under the sheet next to her, wrapping his arm around her, burying his nose in her hair.

He was confident that he would fall asleep with her in his arms. No nightmares. No disturbing dreams about Jared or his mother.

Then she took his hand in hers. It was so broad and so familiar, as if she'd touched his hand a thousand times before. Then she laid his hand against her breast.

Booth's eyes fluttered open. No, more like _shot _open. He she meant to do that? Was it a happy accident or was she wanting more?

He decided to count to a very painful ten steamboats before testing the waters. When the tenth steamboat came and chugged away, Booth decided to test away by moving his thumb. Just a little bit. Something that could be easily explained away.

Brennan's mouth was dry. How could this man make her feel like a virginal eighteen-year-old? She would never know. Either way, her head spun, she felt like she'd just tipped back some shots, and it took everything in her not to just attack the man like she'd done earlier in the river.

His thumb slipped between the buttons on her pajama top, touching the soft skin of her breast. She seemingly didn't respond. Good? Or bad? It was getting harder and harder to not control himself. He circled her areola. Still nothing. Maybe it was a good sign.

There was a line. A line that would always be there.

What line? His hand slipped under her nightshirt swiftly. Then she turned. She touched his face gently. He dropped a kiss on her neck.

Enough with formality.

She switched places with him before he even knew what was happening. She was the kind of woman who took charge. And some times, that meant being on top. Not just professionally speaking. Although, in this particular case, the bounds between the professional and the private were being quickly blended together.

He pulled the shirt over her head. It fell on the floor, or the bed or lampshade. Nobody's taking notes.

Neither said or did anything for a second. Then kissed the soft skin on the inside of her shoulder. Again between her breasts. Once again on her neck.

Somewhere in the background, a noise came from the living room. Neither noticed.

Finally, his lips reached hers. They kissed deeply, furiously, hungrily. They stopped for breath, then kissed again.

His hands slipped down the the waistband of her underwear.

A knock at the door. It swung open, "Hey, I just--WOAH!" Jared quickly shut the door.

Brennan pressed herself against Booth. He pulled the blanket over the two of them.

"What is it?!" Booth yelled.

"Uh... I, uh, I just got a call from Mom. She, uh, she wanted us to go to the hospital ASAP."

"What's wrong?"

"She wouldn't say. Tanya and I are going on ahead. I'll, uh... I'll meet you guys there. I'm _really _sorry."

* * *

_Thank you for all of the great reviews, everyone! :D  
_


	12. Chapter 12

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XII  
**

Booth and Brennan ran through the spotless halls of the hospital. A few nurses shouted for them to slow down, but neither listened.

When they reached his father's room, Tanya was standing back several feet. In front of the door, Jared was hugging Anne tightly. He rubbed her back in concentric circles. From the angle that Booth and Brennan were approaching, Booth could see Anne's red eyes and nose. Immediately his stomach dropped. A mixture of cold fear and guilt rose to the surface. Fear that the moment he'd been expecting for so long had come and guilt for not being there for his mother.

"Mom. Is Dad--" He couldn't finish the sentence.

The door of his father's room opened. Dr. Sweeeney closed it behind her. Since Anne was crying and Jared was comforting her, she addressed Booth, "He's breathing on his own now."

Booth closed his eyes. Opened them again. "What happened?"

"Your father stopped breathing and coded. We were able to resuscitate him."

Booth put his hand to his forehead and took several strides in the opposite direction as the news set in. He turned around. "Can we see him?"

"Yes, of course. I have to warn you about a few things, first."

Brennan reached for Booth's hand. He squeezed back firmly.

"He will be gurgling. Our lungs naturally collect fluid, but he simply isn't able to drain it away."

Jared let his mother go. Anne took a seat on a nearby chair. "Is it... is it painful?" Jared asked.

"Breathing isn't painful for him. However, he is complaining of pain in his hands and feet, which isn't uncommon for people with terminal cancer. He's also very drowsy and he may or may not recognize any of you." Rachel paused when Booth suddenly hugged Brennan. Two years later, it was finally being called even between them. He was afraid. "He is no longer on IV fluids or a feeding tube. At this stage, none of the nutrition is being absorbed. The best thing is to keep him comfortable. Now is the time to say good-bye if you haven't already."

Jared turned. When he turned back, he looked angry, hurt, sad. It was the first moment he'd actually thought that this could be it for his father. Not that he was inconsiderate. More that he was in denial. "Dammit!" His voice made Booth look at his brother. Tears were building in Jared's eyes.

Booth let go of Brennan and walked toward Jared. The two men embraced one another. This time it really was something between brothers.

Anne stood up from her seat. She composed herself quickly. There again was that silent strength that was Anne. "How about you ladies and I go get something to drink in the cafeteria?"

Brennan and Tanya followed quietly out of the hallway, leaving Seeley and Jared.

"F-cking sonovabitch. He goes and dies. It's just like him. Huh, Seeley?" Despite his words, it was obvious that Jared was hurting. He took a seat where Anne was sitting and put his head in his hands.

Booth took a seat beside him and put his hand on his shoulder. Jared shrugged it away.

"Do you know what it was like after you left for school? It was hell. You went and got your degree, then off to the army and whatever the hell else you did and I was alone with that man."

"You could've lived with Mom, Jared."

"F-ck no. She was... He had me convinced that she was a lazy stupid woman." A tear slipped from his eye and stopped at his lip. "I listened, Seeley. I listened to the bastard. Now I find myself actually feeling bad that the asshole's dying. What the f-ck, huh?" The brothers sat in silence for a while. "When you were gone, I was the punching bag. Not that I want that for you, but... I guess I felt alone." His voice cracked and he sobbed once or twice before speaking again. "I should be dancing on his grave, right? I should have clogs on back-order for Chr-st's sake. So why the hell does it hurt so _damned _much?"

"I guess... you can't help who you love. Look at Mom and Dad... Look at you and Tanya. And look--" Booth smiled, "Look at... Mom and... Dad."

Jared laughed and for a second tears and laughter commingled. "Yeah... I'm sorry about that, man. Hey, I knocked, right?"

Booth laughed. "You just forget about what you _think _you saw."

"You mean, forget about seeing a topless Tempe straddling my big brother on Mom's antique quilt? No. That one's going into the memory book. And every Christmas, we'll take it out and torture you with it." Booth feigned a laugh, clapped Jared on the back and squeezed the tendon that connected to his neck and shoulder. "Ow, ow, ow, _ow!"_

They both knew that the lighthearted chat would have to end some time.

"Ready for this, Jar Head?"

"Yeah. I guess I have to be, huh?"

They stood up.

Booth put his hand on the door handle.

"Hey," Jared said. Booth paused. "I need you to know that I love you. In a-- In a non-sword fighting kinda way."

Booth smiled. "I love you, too. In non-Oedipus-and-his-mom kinda way."

The door swung open slowly.

Mike lay in his hospital bed. He gurgled lightly. The sound almost made you want want to clear your throat. Which both brothers did simultaneously.

Mike turned his head slightly. "I... didn't think... you boys'd come. I'm... dying..."

"That's why we're here, Dad," Booth said.

"I... have something... to say... while I still... have my wits," Mike said. His voice was hardly above a whisper. The brothers had to move close enough to hear. He gurgled with every breath. His flesh was gray. The purple lip that hung from his face was now a pale pink. By then, Mike was so thin that he resembled a black-and-white photograph from WWII. Mike reached for a hand. Jared crossed his arms so his father couldn't hold his hand. Booth allowed Mike to hold his. "I know..." His speech was broken by his gasps for breath. "This is... a little late... but I need to say it. I love you boys. I'm... I'm very sorry, Jared. I'm very sorry... Seeley. I know that doesn't... excuse nothin'... but it had... to be said..."

Jared turned toward the window and put his hands on his hips. He turned back and came to his father's bedside. He put his hand in Mike's. "Dad--"

"You boys... put up with a lot... because of me. I know that doesn't excuse..." His expression changed mid-sentence. Mike retracted his hands from his sons. "What the f-ck... are you crying about? F-cking pussy. My sons... are a bunch of females... damned girls..."

Jared shook his head and walked out of the room. Booth left the room and followed Jared into the hall.

"I'm tired of giving that man second chances, Seeley."

"He's dying. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"What? So I should forgive the mother f-cker? That was his last chance."

"Unfortunately, you're right. That was his last chance. He'll be dead in a few days."

"Yeah, well, Merry Christmas to me. I actually felt sorry for him. I feel more guilty about _that _than walking out of that room." Jared took a seat.

"You can't go back in time, Jared."

"What?"

"Our childhood. It's done. It's gone. We can't get it back and even if we could, we can't change the kind of person Dad is."

"A pathetic sonovabitch."

"I love Dad."

Jared looked up at him. "Why?"

Booth sat down beside him. He shrugged. "He's my Dad."

Jared chuckled. "You've convinced me with your eloquent words."

"I'm not telling you to love him. But I think you should accept his apology and let things go. Put this in the past." Booth leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "And don't worry. I intend on taking my own advice."

Jared leaned forward. "Move toward the future, right?"

Booth looked at his brother. "Yeah."

"Like... falling in _love_," Jared said. The comment was very suggestive of what he'd seen earlier that morning.

Booth laughed. "Yeah. Like falling in love."

"Tempe's a passionate woman."

"Damned straight."

Jared's teasing face disappeared. He grew serious. "Tanya's pregnant."

Booth looked at Jared. "Woah. Didn't expect that one."

"Me, neither."

"You realize that smoking isn't good for the baby, right?"

"Yeah. She's trying to quit." He shook his head. "She's all wrong for me."

Booth nodded. "I was thinking that. You're usually into dating _scientists_."

"You're not gonna hold that against me forever, right?"

"Maybe until you're dying. Then I'll let it go."

Jared grinned. "There's a lot more to Tanya than meets the eye. She's graduating next May with a nursing degree. She put herself through by herself. With her dancing career. Her dad's a truck driver and her mom is a manager at a restaurant."

"Wow," Booth mumbled. "I really didn't expect that."

"I'm, uh... I don't want to be like Dad."

"You don't have to be."

Jared drew in a shaking breath. "I'm joining a 12 Step Program. I can't... I can't be like him, Seeley. I can't let my son or daughter grow up hating me, fearing me, hiding in insulation just to get away from me." He blinked back a tear. "I just can't do it. I don't want to be like Dad."

Booth smiled. He reached out and put his hand on Jared's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Jared."

The two men shared a smile. Jared stood up. "I should find Tanya." He moved to take a step, but turned around. "You know, that translates to your situation, too."

"Huh?"

"More than what meets the eye. That's probably true of a certain passionate, serious, scientist lady. Whatever I saw earlier--or didn't see-- It wasn't an accident, Seeley." Jared put his hands in his pockets and took several steps.

"Oh, hey, Jared." Jared turned. "Congratulations."

Jared grinned and walked away.

* * *

_Thank you for the reviews, everyone!!! :D  
_


	13. Chapter 13

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XIII  
**

Brennan sipped her cup of hot tea. She didn't quite know what to say to Anne. She never felt very comfortable in those situations and goodness knows whenever she did try to open her mouth, things never did come out the way she meant. So she said nothing.

Jared walked into the cafeteria and sauntered over to where the three women were sitting. "Hey, how are you doing, Mom?"

Anne lowered her cup and nodded before speaking, "I'm doing fine, sweetheart."

Jared kissed Anne on the forehead. "I'm taking Tanya home so she can get a nap in before our shift."

Anne waved her hand. "No need for that, honey. I'm going to sit with your father today."

"Mom... You need to get a nap in."

"I slept on the couch for a few hours. I'll just take another nap and I'll be good as gold."

Jared nodded. He knew she didn't want to be away from Mike if he was going to die soon. "I'll come and relieve you around dinner time."

"Jare--"

"At least so you can get some dinner."

"OK. I suppose I'm no good if I'm starving."

Tanya took her purse and stood.

"Alright. I'll see you later tonight, Mom."

Brennan watched as Tanya walked away. She must have looked thoughtful because Anne asked, "What are you thinking about, honey?"

"Oh... It's none of my business."

Anne smiled. "Tanya's pregnant."

Brennan studied Anne before speaking, "Did she tell you?"

"No. Some things a woman just knows. How'd you know?"

"I noticed several physical indicators."

"Well, my reasoning's not so scientific, I'm afraid." Anne wrapped her hands around the mug and leaned forward a bit. And for a fraction of a second, Brennan felt strangely at ease. It was like a diner talk, but with Anne instead of Booth. "First, she turned down bacon at breakfast."

"I turned down the bacon."

Anne scrunched her chin. "Nah. You didn't accept it. Tanya refused it." She smiled. "With Seeley, I had the worst morning sickness--well, what I thought was the worst, at the time. It ended at 20 weeks to the day. With Jared, I threw up once. All over my mother's hand-crocheted tablecloth. I felt so bad." They laughed. Brennan found herself wondering what that was like. She hadn't changed her mind about childbearing, but the whole process seemed fascinating. "And... and with Kevin... I had to be hospitalized from about eight weeks on. I couldn't even keep down water."

A half a minute passed before Brennan spoke. "Are you excited? It must be wonderful to know that you'll have another family member. Someone who is part of you... and you don't have to even try..." Brennan trailed off as she began to think about her parents.

Anne reached across the table and held onto Brennan's hand. "You don't have to share blood to be someone's family, Temperance." She smiled warmly. "I have a feeling that you have a lot more family than you're willing to put stock in. And yes... I can't wait to meet our new little baby. I just hope that he has Jared's temperament--he was such a sweet baby, never cried unless he really needed it-- And Seeley's ability to pick things up quickly. He was potty trained by two and he taught himself to tie his shoes. Such a smart boy."

Brennan smiled at the thought of a little Booth tying his own shoes. "Booth is still quite smart. He--" The look in her eyes became distant. "Always knows the right thing to say to the suspects we interrogate. Even with me... sometimes he knows what I'm about to say before I even say it."

Anne laughed. "That's my son."

Booth grinned as he came around the corner. His mother and Brennan were laughing and talking. It was a good sight. A perfect sight. The two women he loved most in the world in one room.

He pushed his hands into his pockets and strode up to the women. "Hey," he said rather quietly so as to not make either of them jump.

Brennan smiled up at him. "Hi, Booth."

"Hey, Bones."

Anne looked between the two of them. It didn't take her too long upon meeting Temperance that there was something between her son and she. She stood up. "I'm going to go sit with Mike. You kids go home and catch some Zs." She bent down, kissed Brennan on the cheek and patted Booth on the shoulder, then walked out of the cafeteria.

Booth grinned and walked up to Brennan, hands still in pockets. "Wow. You and Mom really are hitting it off."

Brennan stood and smoothed her shirt. "Your Mom is fascinating. She's very intelligent, too. I--" She stopped when she tried to decrypt what Booth was thinking. He was still grinning at her and slowly walking toward her. "What?"

He shrugged. "I like it." He reached Brennan and stopped. The grin dissipated. He kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger against her cheek a little more than necessary. "Thanks, Bones," he whispered into her ear.

"For what?"

"For everything." His breath tickling her neck was like throwing gasoline on a fire. It didn't take long before she turned her head... just enough so that her lips were within range of his and there would be no denying what that signal meant. He slid his hand up her arm and behind her neck.

"Eeew!" They both turned their faces in the direction of the noise. A little boy in blue Batman pajamas and a bandanna that covered his bald head was standing not two feet away from them. He was completely grossed out by the two people who were about to kiss. "Don't you know about germs?"

His mother ran up to the boy and grabbed his hand. "Sam! Sorry," she said to the couple. "We're still working on manners, apparently."

The two walked toward the breakfast buffet, leaving Booth and Brennan alone once again. As alone as you _can _get in a hospital cafeteria.

Booth laughed and shrugged. "It's fate, Bones."

"I don't believe in fate." She stepped into him, placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him. Passionately. Borderline-disgustingly. But definitely hotly.

Booth stumbled away from the kiss, taking a step back and looking completely taken aback. Brennan looked calm and completely proud of herself.

"Um... So... there's this place."

"What are you saying?" She asked.

"Uh, breakfast, Bones. I know a place that makes the world's best pancakes."

Brennan picked up her purse and they began to make their way out of the cafeteria. "How do you know they're the world's best? Have you gone around the world sampling pancakes?"

"Do you always have to question what I say, Bones?"

"Only when I find fault in your facts or logic."

Booth shook his head. "You're a pain in the ass."

She glared at him in a teasing way.

"A very sexy ass, might I add," he said in a voice just low enough for her to hear. Then he reached out and did something he'd been dying to do again for going on two years. He smacked it.

* * *

_There'll be another up shortly...  
_


	14. Chapter 14

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XIV  
**

Anne had curled up on the couch in Mike's room. She snored softly, her head resting on the arm of the couch. Tanya and Jared were talking in low tones, trying to keep from waking everyone. Brennan was thumbing through a medical journal loaned to her by Dr. Sweeney.

Booth opened the door and held up a pack of playing cards. "Thank goodness for overpriced hospital gift shops, huh?" He sat down next to Brennan. "Crazy Eights?"

She eyed him. "Crazy what?"

Jared grinned and slid forward on his seat. "Oh, you're asking for it, Seeley."

"What is he asking for?" Brennan was lost.

"He's asking for a nasty red welt on his hand. That's what he's asking for, Tempe."

"I don't know what you two are talking about."

Tanya grinned. "Crazy Eights, honey. You know... the game?"

She did not know. And it was obvious.

"Fine, you're on my team, babe. We're gonna lay a smack-down on these guys like you've never seen." Tanya pulled up a chair next to her and patted it.

"How do I play?"

Booth and Jared pulled up the little coffee table into the middle of their group. "What you need, Bones, is quick reflexes."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Woah, I'm not playing if Tempe's playing," Jared cut in. "She's gonna kick my ass. I won't be able to use my hand for a week."

"Baby," Booth muttered, grinning.

"I'm... still not completely clear on the rules."

"I'll deal the cards. Everyone lays down a card. If you see an eight, you slap the pile. Whoever's on the bottom gets the stack. If you run out of cards, you're out of the game." Booth began to shuffle the cards.

"There doesn't seem to be any logical integrity to the game."

Booth smiled at her. "Some things don't require logic, Bones."

The look they shared made Jared squirm. "Let's just play, guys."

"Alright, who goes first?"

"Ladies first," Booth said.

"Show off," Jared muttered, smiling.

Tanya laid down a Queen for the ladies. The cards were laid down around the circle with no particular action until Jared tossed an eight into the pile. Brennan smacked his hand before the card even hit the pile.

"Yow!" He pulled his hand back quickly. It was bright red and hurt like hell. "Holy hell, Tempe!"

"Dang, Bones. Nice reflexes."

Brennan straightened her posture, completely proud of herself and took the pile of cards, adding them to Tanya's and her collection.

The cards were thrown down in the circle. Tanya threw down an eight on the next round. Once again, Brennan slapped her hand down and earned the ladies twelve more cards.

On the next round, it was a repeat of the first one. Brennan smacked her hand out, slapping Jared's before he had a chance to retrieve it. "Dammit! Ouch!"

Brennan grinned.

On the final round, Booth was the one who threw down the fatal Crazy Eight card. Both of their hands hit the eight at the same time.

They froze, neither knowing who the true winner was.

"It's mine, Booth."

"No, Bones. See how my thumb is a little bit below yours. That proves that mine was the first to touch the eight."

"My right proximal phalange is just slightly beneath yours, so it was obviously my win."

"I don't think so, Bones."

"We should play a round. Just you and me. Whoever gets that, wins all."

"You sure sound confident in yourself, Bones."

"I am quite confident, yes. I know that I'm going to beat you."

"Careful, Bones, I might like that."

Jared cleared his throat. "Let's just call it a tie, huh?"

Brennan: "I don't like ties."

Booth: "She doesn't like ties."

Jared groaned.

"You know, Bones, you ever hear of a Peace Treaty?"

"The rate of failure of Peace Treaties is disturbingly high." Brennan crossed her arms.

Booth grinned. "You're bull-headed."

She scrunched her forehead and touched her face.

"It means you're stubborn."

She smiled. "Rematch."

At that moment, Anne sat up abruptly.

Booth glanced over at her momentarily, then he looked back to Brennan, then back at Anne once again. "Mom, are you OK?"

She looked pale and her cheeks were tinged with red. "I'm not... I'm not feeling very good," she said in a low tone.

Jared and Booth stood up from their seats and went to their mother. "What's wrong?"

"I..." She breathed in and out slowly. "I'm having chest pain."

Tanya hit the call button on Mike's bed.

"Does your left arm hurt?' Jared asked.

"Women often experience unusual symptoms when they have heart attacks," Brennan said. "That's one reason why heart disease is the number one killer of women. You should just sit back, Anne. Don't stand up."

A nurse walked into the room. "Is everything OK in here?"

"My Mom's having chest pain," Booth explained.

The nurse immediately stuck her head into the hallway. "Can I get a wheelchair in here?!"

Another nurse came in and within a few seconds, Anne was being wheeled down the hall and into another room.

* * *

_Wow! Thanks for the great response! Thank you all!!! I'm glad you're enjoying this!  
_

_Hey, Nicole! ;)  
_


	15. Chapter 15

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XV  
**

An older doctor with gray hair and a round face closed Anne's hospital room door. He smiled at the two concerned men who stood up as soon as he exited.

"You must be Anne's sons?"

Booth nodded.

"I'm Dr. Gray." He reached out and shook each fo their hands.

"How is she?"

"I gave her a sleeping pill. She's relaxing now. Anne said that Seeley is her health representative?"

"That's me."

"Well, it wasn't a heart attack, so you can rest at ease. It was an angina attack. Probably brought on by the stress of your father's health situation." He chuckled and shook his head, "Your mother is a stubborn woman. She revealed to me that she's had about four hours of sleep in the past two nights. She's also a little dehydrated, so she's on an IV. It wasn't serious. _This _time. The best thing for your mom right now is plenty of rest, fluids, maybe a hug from her kids."

"Is she still awake?' Jared asked.

"For now. You can go in if you like. No more than five minutes, though. I'd like for her to get some sleep in a few minutes. No visitors for a few hours." The doctor's pager beeped. "Excuse me."

Jared and Tanya went into Anne's room, leaving Booth and Brennan alone.

"Are you OK?" Brennan asked.

Booth looked at Brennan, "I don't know."

They walked outside of the hospital. Booth sat on the curb under a bright safety light.

"My Mom... she was always the type that would put others first, you know?" He shook his head and watched the stars. "When I was about thirteen, we went to mass. It must have been December or January because it was snowing. Dad never went with us. He always stayed home and watched TV... I hate that that's the memory I have of him. It wasn't that he didn't believe in God. He just didn't want to get out of bed and spend time with his family." Booth reached up and rubbed his face. He was beginning to get a bit of a beard. "We walked to church. It was... it had to have been twenty degrees out. By the time church got out, it had snowed two or three feet. One of the ladies offered us a ride, but there was only enough room for Jared and me."

"Why didn't Anne drive?"

"She wasn't allowed to," he replied simply. Then he looked over at Brennan. "Do you know what she said, Bones?" She shook her head. "She said that she would get a ride with someone else. But she lied. There was nobody else and I was old enough to know that. She just wanted to make sure we got home fine. When she got home... she was cold. And Dad was pissed that she took her time getting home." Booth shook his head. "She just wanted us to get home warm and dry."

"Despite the sadness of your story, it's... sweet. Your mom is a good mother."

He smiled. "Yeah, she _is _a good mom. She always had something for us when we came home from school. Cookies, sandwiches, hot chocolate... I was scared back there, Bones. I thought I'd lost her."

"That must make you appreciate her," Brennan said.

Booth smiled. "Yeah. You know, Bones..." He smiled slyly at her. "I think you'd be that kind of mom. Selfless and giving."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't want to have children."

He grinned and bumped his shoulder against hers. "I'll bet that you'll change your mind some day."

"What if I don't?"

He thought about it for a second. "Then you won't. But you know, you might be missing out on something amazing."

She smiled and waved a moth from her face. "Maybe."

His grin grew wider.

"What?" She asked defensively.

"You just admitted it."

"Admitted what?"

"That you might change your mind some day. That there's a window for change."

"Wh--Not on purpose..." She rolled her eyes. "It counts, doesn't it?"

He nodded. "Like Sesame Street on crack."

"I don't know what that means."

Booth laughed, then he was quiet for a few seconds. "I've got an idea."

She stood, too. "What idea?"

"It's a secret. Stay here." He checked his watch and took out his cell phone. He strode off several feet so that he was out of ear-shot, then he talked on his cell phone. He came back beaming.

"What are you smiling about?"

He put his hands into his pockets and sauntered up to her. "Let's say we go get some dinner and then we'll come back and relieve Jared and Tanya."

She smiled thoughtfully. "Did you know that Tanya's pregnant?" She looked apologetic almost immediately. "That was none of my business, wasn't it?"

Booth reached out and rubbed her shoulders. "Jared already told me."

"What do you think?"

"I think Jared is a good man. He has his faults, but I think that the good will win out in the end. He's not my father. He has the benefit of learning from his mistakes."

Brennan tilted her head to the side. "You're like your mom. You see the good in everyone."

Booth moved a little closer. "I try," he said in a low voice. Then he kissed her. His lips touched hers. She parted her lips, he parted his. Then he whispered in her ear, "What would you do if I threw you over my shoulder, took you home, and made love to you?"

Her breath caught in her throat. "I would like that very much," she whispered back. Then she cleared her throat and said in a stronger voice, "But it wouldn't be appropriate right now. Besides... we would need a lot more than an hour."

* * *

_Thanks again for the great response, everyone! =)  
_


	16. Chapter 16

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XVI  
**

Booth took off his shirt and lay in bed. It had been a long night and they were finally going to get some sleep.

Brennan closed the bedroom door, tooth brush in her mouth. She sat on the edge of the bed. He lifted his head off the pillow and rested it on his elbow.

After a few seconds, she turned to him, "Should we talk about what happened the other night?"

Booth reached for her. He put his arm around her waist. She put the tooth brush on the side table and lay down in his arms, facing him. "We should definitely talk about it, Bones."

"Yes, we should talk about what this means." Her voice sounded more questioning than certain.

"You mean, professionally?" And that sounded more like a statement than a question. He spoke into existence the fear that was in the back of both of their minds.

Brennan didn't need to speak to tell Booth what she was thinking.

Booth sighed and pulled her a little closer. "There's a lot we need to talk about."

"Do you think this will jeopardize our careers?" Then she added quietly, "Or our partnership?"

Booth kissed her tenderly, taking his time, taking in every nuance of the way she felt against his lips and the way she smelled. Everything was perfect. For now. He decided not to think about what it would mean. Right then, he would hold her close. And think about tomorrow another time. He reached over and pulled the lamp cord. The room was drowned in darkness. He held her close once again. "We'll talk about this tomorrow, Bones. Tonight let's just be Seeley and Temperance."

"I don't know..." She stopped speaking before any emotion could be betrayed by a wobbly voice.

"I don't know what it means, either, Bones." He kissed her forehead and they drifted off to sleep.

--

Nineteen year old Seeley Booth sat on the couch in the living room with Jared playing a heated game of Super Mario Brothers.

"You're mine, Seeley!" He tapped away on the controller._ Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap!_

Mike came into the room with an angry scowl on his face. One look and the brothers knew that it was not going to be good.

Mike held up a plastic baggy full of pot, "What the f-ck is this?"

Booth grimaced and looked over at Jared. Jared gave him one of those familiar 'help me' looks.

Booth sighed. Then he looked up at his father. "It's mine, Dad."

"How many times do I have to tell you that this shit'll kill you? F-ck. I feel like a f-cking broken record. You're about as f-cking stupid as a doorknob, Seeley." Mike walked over and yanked Seeley to his feet by his collar.

"Dad, kids experiment," Jared said.

"Stay the f-ck out of this, Jared." Then he turned to Seeley, "You're nothing but a goddamn worthless sack of shit, you know that?" Mike then slammed Booth against the wall. The vibrations of the impact caused a family photograph to fall to the ground.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Booth said.

"You're always f-cking sorry. You've got the IQ of roadkill!" Mike picked him up and threw him against the wall again.

By that time, Seeley was trying his best to contain his temper. "I'm out of here," he mumbled and tried to get away.

Mike grabbed him again, then punched him.

Booth hardly stumbled backward. In fact, he took one step back, then righted himself. "Dad, just stop." It was obvious that he wasn't a child any more. Running would never change anything. And he knew it.

"Piece of shit!" Mike swung again.

And for the first time in their relationship, Seeley Booth had had enough. And he was going to do something about it.

Booth caught Mike's fist in mid air, then pushed him back. Mike stumbled a bit, then he swung again. Booth ducked, then threw a punch at Mike. It was the first time that he had ever swung back. And he did not miss.

Mike fell back into the table, holding his nose with his right hand. A bowl of fruit fell to the floor and shattered. Apples rolled and bounced across the kitchen and into the living room.

He stared Booth down for a few seconds before running at him. He expected to take him down, but Booth had two things going for him. One, he was young. And two, he wasn't drunk. He simply put his hand on Mike's head as he came close and threw him to the ground.

Mike breathed hard and wiped a bit of blood from his nose. "Get the hell out."

Booth shrugged. "Fine. I'll be at Jake's if you need me."

"Then you'll be there for a goddamn long time, boy. News flash, Seeley, I've never wanted you and I never will. The only reason you're here is because your Mom and I f-cked without a f-cking condom."

That hurt to hear. Not just the admission from his father that he never wanted him, but also the fact that he referred to his time with his mother as f-cking. Basically, in one word, he had debased his mother to a whore and their making love to being simply an action and nothing more.

He only shook his head and walked out the front door.

Jared called after him when he got into his car. "Seeley!"

Booth rolled down the window to hear his brother.

"Are you coming back?"

Booth gritted his teeth. "Probably not. I'm leaving for school next week--" He shook his head. "I'll call you, Jared." He held up is fist.

Jared hesitated, then held up his fist and bumped it against Seeley's. "Bye."

Booth smiled weakly, then pulled on to the road. In his rear-view mirror, he saw his fifteen year old brother standing in the middle of the street in his parachute pants. He always held a little bit of guilt for Jared's upbringing from that point on. He left home when Jared was starting to dabble in the things his friends were. Marijuana. Alcohol. Cigarettes. What-have-you.

So he put it in the back of his mind. He tried not to think of it. That always made it easier. Not thinking about it.

* * *

_Thanks again, everyone! =)  
_


	17. Chapter 17

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XVII  
**

They had only been asleep for about three hours when the doorbell rang. Booth woke up immediately. Brennan's arm was wrapped around his bare chest and she was sound asleep. He carefully slipped out of her grasp and threw on a tee-shirt. Jared and Tanya were stirring from the noise.

He swung the door open before Rebecca got another chance to ring the doorbell. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. "Hey, Rebecca."

She smiled congenially, "Hi, Seeley."

"Where's Parker?"

"Asleep in the car. It's only six." She paused. "Look, I'm sorry to hear about your dad. I know that your relationship with him has been rocky at best."

Booth shrugged, "Yeah. Hey, thanks for bringing Parker up here."

"It's OK. No problem." She and Booth walked toward her car. Booth opened the door and unbuckled Parker's seat belt, then picked him up into his arms. They stopped just outside of the front door. "I'll be at my sister's. You remember the number?" Booth nodded. "Parker has swim team practice tomorrow, so it's just for today."

"I know about Parker's practice. Just... thanks for going out of your way, Rebecca."

She smiled. It was almost a sad smile. "It's a family thing, Seeley. If I can't do this for you when your father's dying, then we have a lot more problems than not being able to get along."

Booth smiled. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Thanks, Beck."

She got into her car and pulled the seat belt over her shoulder. "I'll have my cell phone on me. I'll pick him up at five so he can be at practice by nine."

Booth closed her door and walked inside of the house. When the door closed behind them, Parker began to wake up. He realized he was in his Dad's arms and wrapped his arm around his neck a little tighter. "Hi, Dad."

"Hey, Buddy." Booth put his feet on the ground.

Parker surveyed the place, getting his bearings. Then his gaze settled on the two in the pull-out. "Uncle Jared!!!" Parker grinned, ran, and jumped onto the sleeping man.

"Oomph!" Jared doubled up, then realized that he was being attacked by an eight year old. "Parker? Hey, Park! That's it! Payback time!" Jared quickly began to tickle Parker. Tanya woke up and tried to figure out what was going on. Parker began to squeal and laugh. Then the bedroom door opened.

Brennan met Booth's gaze after a moment. And she smiled, knowing exactly what was going on.

Parker finally released from Jared's grasp and he saw Brennan. "Hi, Bones!"

"Hi, Parker."

"Dad, can we get something to eat? I'm starving."

"I don't know..." Booth said, inspecting his son's body. Then he reached out and took his wrist in one hand and began pinching his arm between his thumb and forefinger. Apparently it tickled quite a bit because Parker began to laugh and beg his Dad to stop. "Yup. Definitely too skinny. We need to put some meat on your bones." He looked up at Brennan. "Bones, want some breakfast?"

"Sure. Give me a minute."

Two hours later, they were walking through the halls of the hospital toward Anne's room. Parker ran ahead to punch Jared's arm. Jared fell to the ground in a very dramatic fashion. A few nurses gave them very serious looks, to which Jared responded by picking Parker up over his shoulder and packing him the rest of the way to the hospital room.

Brennan bumped against Booth's arm. "Is this the surprise?"

Booth looked over at her and nodded. "Did I surprise you?"

"Well, yes, but--"

Booth understood what she was going to say before she said it, "It's more of a surprise for Mom than you... although, it was prompted by something you said." He grinned at her.

They looked over at Tanya and Jared as they took Parker to get a soda. Tanya was obviously enjoying the auntie thing and being around a child.

Brennan was a little more serious. "You want to introduce Parker to your father before he dies."

Booth stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground, then back up into her eyes. "Do you think it's a bad idea?"

"Anthropologically speaking?"

"I didn't know you could do that in this situation, Bones. I'm kinda impressed."

She laughed, glanced over at Jared who was now holding the soda above his head and out of Parker's reach, then back at Booth, "We all seek out our genetic counterparts. It makes us whole, metaphorically speaking."

"I'm not seeing the anthropology in this, Bones," he teased.

"When we're around others with a similar genetic makeup, we have a sense of tribal belonging. It ranks on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." She crossed her arms.

Parker ran up and Booth caught him and ruffled his hair, then straightened. He grinned at Brennan, "Hey, Bones, wasn''t Maslow a psychologist?"

She seemed annoyed for a moment, "Are you and Sweets getting all buddies-buddy?"

"Buddy-buddy. And no, Bones. We're not."

"Buddy-buddy," she repeated. "Well, as it turns out, I agree with that particular theory. _But _psychology is _mostly _moot."

Booth laughed as he turned Anne's door handle.

When the door had opened just a bit, Booth stuck his head in, "Mom?" His voice changed, _"Mom?"_

"What?" Jared asked.

Booth threw the door open and they all peered in.

"Where did Anne go?" Brennan asked.

Booth chuckled to himself. "I think I know where she is." They all began to follow Booth down the hallway. They rode the elevator two stories up, then walked down another hallway.

Booth knocked on a door and opened it.

And there was Anne. She sat with a resolute expression on her face. She held Mike's hand and watched him breathe slowly in and out, gurgling as he did so. He looked even smaller and weaker, if that was at all possible. How ironic. A man who had prided himself on his masculinity and strength all of his life had now shriveled to a small man who didn't have the strength to stand, go to the bathroom on his own, feed himself, or breathe without assistance--let alone beat a woman and her children. Some would call it karma. Some would call it fate. In this case, I think that it's just a nice bitter dose of dramatic irony.

Anne turned her head and smiled. "I suppose you found me."

Booth walked over and kissed her forehead. "Hey, Mom. How is he?"

She swallowed hard, breathed in deeply, and kept her eyes on Mike all the while. "I asked Dr. Sweeney that exact question. My guess is that doctors are supposed to give you hope while at the same time telling you the worst case scenario. She was just being nice. I'm pretty sure that she believes in the worst case scenario more than anything." She looked up at Seeley and blinked away tears. The last time she had cried was the day that she held Parker in her arms. Before that, it was at each of her son's graduations. And before that... on the last day that she was married to Mike. Nowadays it seemed that she couldn't stop herself. And for some reason she was heart broken about Mike's passing. She shouldn't have been. Her tap dancing shoes should have been on back-order with Jared's clogs. She didn't cry this time. She remained composed and strong. She had had enough of crying to last her the rest of her years. "Twenty-four to forty-eight hours--maximum."

Booth nodded, not knowing what to say. If he had learned anything from women like his mother and Brennan, it was that if you give comfort to someone who doesn't want it, you were liable to get your teeth knocked out.

"Grandma!" Parker pushed past the adults as Jared and Tanya walked in.

Anne's face immediately lit up and she smiled. "Puddle-Bug!" She bent down--just a tad because Parker was getting so big--and hugged him tightly. Then she touched his face tenderly. "You are a wonderful and intelligent young man, Parker. You remember that always. Promise me?"

Parker nodded, "Yeah, I know, Grandma. You tell me like all the time."

Her face grew serious. "It's because it's true, Parker. And I don't want you to ever forget it. You have other things going for you besides your rugged good looks." She grinned and Parker grinned back.

Then Parker's eyes fell on the man in the bed. "Who's that? Is he sick?"

Anne nodded and sat down.

"Uh, Park--" Booth began, but from the look that Anne gave him, Booth knew that Anne wanted to take the reins.

Anne reached for Parker's hand. He was still young enough that he didn't tell his grandmother how he was too big for that. "This is Mike, Parker."

"Can he hear me?"

"He's sleeping now." The truth was that Mike had been asleep for about twenty hours. Anne reached out and squeezed Mike's hand. "Listen, Parker. I have to tell you something. Mike was my husband once."

"Does that mean he's my grandpa?"

"Like I said, sweetie, you're a smart boy. Yes. He's your grandpa. And..." Her voice quavered. "Excuse me, honey, I've got to use the rest room." She stood up and left the room before she began to cry. Jared and Tanya followed her out.

Booth stepped forward and knelt. "Listen, Parker--"

"Why didn't I meet Grandpa before?" Parker eyed his father with scrunched brows and large brown eyes. It was extremely difficult to lie to a boy with such eyes.

"My Dad wasn't a very good dad, Park."

"You mean like he yelled at you and stuff? That doesn't mean he's bad. Mom told me that sometimes grown-ups punish you because they love you not because they're bad people."

"Yeah, Bub. Your mom's right. But my Dad... he hit me and your Uncle Jared. Even when we weren't being bad. And he drank a lot of beer. He was an angry person. Look, I--I'm sorry you didn't meet him before--"

Parker shook his head adamantly. "It's OK, Dad. He was a bad man. I wouldn't _want _to meet him."

Booth looked up at Brennan, then back at Parker. "Some day you might want to know more about your grandfather. And... you'll want to know more about your--your tribal genetics."

Parker looked really confused.

"It means that some day it'll matter."

Parker looked at his grandfather. "Why does he make that funny sound? Is he dying?" His eyes met his father's.

Booth nodded. "Yeah. He's dying."

Parker's face was quite serious as he thought this through. "Is he... Do you think he's going to Heaven?"

"Um..." Booth didn't know how to answer that one. No. He did not think his father was going to Heaven. "Uh, look--"

Brennan squatted beside Booth. Booth looked at her questioningly. "What do you think?" She asked Parker.

Parker thought this through for a moment, "I guess it depends."

"On what?" Booth asked.

"It depends on if he says he's sorry to God first. Do think he did?"

"There's no possible way to tell," Brennan responded. "Our inner thoughts and wishes are our own. Nobody knows."

"Except for God," Parker said.

Brennan smiled and stood up. "You _are _a very smart boy."

Booth stood up and whispered in her ear, "Thanks."

She only smiled at him.

"Dad, can I say hi to Grandpa?"

Booth struggled with the question for a moment.

"He can't touch him, Booth. And if he says anything, Parker will get over it, I'm sure."

Booth wasn't so sure about that last part, but she was right. He couldn't touch him. And there was another thing, Parker was a strong and bright boy. "OK."

Parker sat down beside Mike where his grandmother was sitting and he reached out for Mike's hand. He shook it. He shook it again. "Hello-o!"

Mike's eyes opened slightly. Then he turned his head in the direction of the noise. "Who's... the midget?"

Booth groaned. He would have to remember to tell Parker to never use that particular word.

"I'm Parker. You're my grandpa."

The man only breathed, gurgled, and studied the boy. "You woke... me up."

"Sorry. But I wanted to meet you."

"Dad, this is--"

Mike grunted. "Let the... boy talk."

Parker felt like he had been put on the spot. Talking to a strange man. "Anyway, I just wanted to say hi."

"Hi."

"I have a question," Parker said. His cheeks tinted pink. "Did you say you're sorry to God?"

"Are you... f-cking tell me.... to apologize? Goddamn... midget."

Booth closed his eyes. Three words.

Parker stood up. "Dad was right. You're a butthead!"

Mike muttered a few more words to add to Booth's list.

Parker looked up at his father. His eyes were glazed with tears. Booth picked up Parker and hugged him. "Good night, Mike."

The group walked into the hallway--more like escaped into the hallway. There, Booth put Parker back on the ground. "I'm sorry, Parker."

Parker wiped a few tears away with the sleeve of his tee-shirt. "You were right, Dad."

Guilt overwhelmed Booth and he hugged Parker tightly. "You never have to see that man again."

"Cuz he's dying?"

Booth nodded.

Over Booth's shoulder, Parker saw Brennan and the concerned look on her face. "Why couldn't he be like Max, Dad? I like him a lot more than Mike."

Booth pulled back. He put his hands on either side of Parker's face. "I guess that makes you a lucky boy, huh? You've got Papa Aaron and I'm sure that Bones wouldn't mind lending her dad to you."

Parker smiled and hugged Booth again. "I don't want to be here any more."

"Me neither, Bub. Me neither."

* * *

_A bit of a big chapter for you today! I hope you liked it! Thank you all for your reviews! I love it when I get story-stalkers! ;)_

_Oh, I had to add one more thing, anything that Mike says is usually NOT PC. I really do not like or condone the use of the m- word but he would use it. And I don't like or condone the use of the n- word, but I'm sure he'd use it, too. Sadly enough, I've modeled Mike after a mixture of my own dad and my sister's husband (mostly my sister's husband) and he uses those words way too freely. . I'm always afraid my little daughter (she's 2) will come back after visiting some day having learned about seven new words that I really won't want her to know! Argh! .  
_


	18. Chapter 18

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XVIII  
**

After dinner, Jared and Parker disappeared. Nobody thought much about it. Parker rarely saw his uncle, and if you know kids, they cling to their aunts and uncles like super glue to a shiny new model car. I don't know what it is. My only guess is that it's because they (the aunts and uncles) are new and they're willing to play with them. It's that combination of naivety and new energy that drew Parker away from his dad that evening. If only Booth and Brennan knew what was going on outside.

Tanya was watching television with her feet elevated, not that they really needed to be yet.

Booth and Brennan were in the kitchen. Bones was in her pajama pants and a tank top. Booth was still fully dressed. Ironically enough, they were heatedly discussing the importance (or unimportance) of not wasting water.

Outside, the two _boys_--I use this term because of what the context of the situation was-- were filling water balloons.

"If you do this first," Jared began to stretch the water balloon between his hands. "Then you can get more water in them. Then I give 'em a little--" He puffed some air into the balloon, "Just to give them a bit of a stretch."

"Like this?" Parker brushed a blond lock from his eyes and stretched the balloon, then put the balloon up to his lips and tried to blow into it. His cheeks poofed out like a chipmunk's. "I can't do it."

"Let me." Jared took it and blew air into it. It filled with air. He released it, then handed it back to Parker.

"Ew. Now it's got your spit all over it."

"Here. Let me fix that for you." Jared took it back and began to lick his tongue all over the balloon and then he handed it back to Parker.

"No! No! Eew!" Parker began to laugh.

"Shhh! Do you wanna blow our cover, soldier?" Jared was serious, or at least he pretended to be.

"No. But I don't want your spit on my balloon, Uncle Jared."

Jared sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Fine." Jared stretched, blew and handed Parker back a balloon. Then he winked at Parker as he put a balloon under the spicket. "Something tells me that Bones has never had a proper water balloon fight."

Parker's mouth opened slightly with his excitement. His eyes glittered with boyish mischief--a look we've all seen way too often on his own father's face. _"What?"_

Jared grinned. "I don't know about you, Colonel Parker, but we need to initiate Tempe into the family."

Jared held out his fist to his nephew. Parker joyfully bumped his fist against his uncle's. "Do you think Dad's gonna get mad, though?"

Jared shrugged. "Your Dad needs to loosen up--" Jared caught himself. "Of course, you should always respect your elders. But in this one case, I think we can bend the rules. You know, so we can initiate Bones and all."

Parker put his balloon under the spicket. The water filled to the top slowly. "What does _initiate _mean?"

"It means we've got to make her feel like part of the family."

"O-oh! Cuz Dad wants to kiss her so now we've gotta throw balloons at her."

"Not just Bones. Your Dad, too."

The lip of the water balloon slipped off from the spicket and began to spray Parker. He squealed. Jared took the balloon from Parker and tied it closed, adding the balloon to the laundry basket of ammo.

"Something tells me, Colonel Parker, that this war isn't going to be easily won."

"Cuz Dad's uh FBI Agent?"

Jared nodded. "That and Bones just so happens to play dirty. Ask me about that in a few years. I'll tell you all about it. In the mean time, let's get ourselves ready."

Parker stood and held out his arms. Jared slung two canvas grocery bags over Parker's shoulders so that they criss-crossed over his chest. He put in three or four in each bag. "Too heavy?"

Parker rolled his eyes. "I'm eight now, Uncle Jared."

Jared nodded. "That's right. You're not a baby any more." He added two more in each bag and put a football helmet on Parker's head.

"You should get suited up, too."

Jared nodded and put the canvas totes over his own shoulders, loading them down until the laundry basket was almost empty. Then he put Anne's bicycle helmet on his head.

"Let's move," Jared said seriously.

Parker looked like he was going to explode with excitement as they rounded the house to the front door.

"What if Aunt Tanya opens the door?" Parker whispered.

Jared grinned at the fact that Parker had so easily taken to calling her 'aunt'. "She won't. I just texted her a few minutes ago. We should take our positions."

"Alpha Position... kkkkhhh... over," Parker said into an imaginary radio, then he scampered away into the bushes.

Jared put two fingers up to his eyes, pointed them at Parker, then back to his own eyes. Parker nodded and grinned excitedly. Then he stood up, walked over to the doorbell, rang it, then jumped back behind the bush.

"Could you get it? My feet are swelling," Tanya said.

"Yeah." Booth pushed off from the counter that he'd been leaning against. "You know I'm right, Bones...."

Brennan followed him to the front door. "You'd be right if our atmosphere was a renewable resource."

Booth opened it, looked out. Nothing.

"Huh," he said. He closed the door.

Jared rang the doorbell when they had retreated.

Booth had a quizzical expression on his face when he answered it a second time. "Hello?"

He shook his head and went back inside.

Parker held back his laughter as he stood up and rang the door bell.

"What the hell?" Booth muttered as he and Brennan walked outside.

"It's probably the neighborhood children."

As soon as they were on the target zone, Parker and Jared jumped up and began to pelt them with water balloons.

Brennan's eyes blazed as soon as she laid them on Jared. Parker was a child. She could explain him away with being easily influenced by an adult, but-- Jared couldn't be so easily excused.

Booth ran after Brennan as she jogged inside and began to dig through the cupboards.

"Bones, what are you doing?"

"Pitchers. Does your Mom have any? Large bowls--Anything that would hold a lot of liquid?" She stood up and turned around, resting her hands on her hips.

Booth grinned. "Bones, you're a genius." He kissed her on the cheek, then stooped down and opened a cupboard door and pulled out two plastic pitchers. He handed Brennan the smaller of the two.

She pursed her lips.

Booth sighed.

Brennan cocked her head to one side.

Booth rolled his eyes and handed her the larger pitcher.

She grinned.

No words were required for that exchange.

"OK, Bones, you know the drill." He held up the now-full pitcher.

Brennan nodded. "I go around the back, you go around the front."

Brennan went out the back door and circled the back of the house. Meanwhile, Booth went out the front door and was met with a barrage of water balloons. He ducked and dove.

Parker chucked a water balloon that hit Booth square in the middle of the chest. He began to laugh. "I got you, Dad!"

Booth shook his head. "That's it!" He ran up to him. Parker ran in the other direction, ducking behind the lawn chairs and trees. Eventually, Booth outran him and tackled him to the ground.

At that moment, Brennan was sneaking up behind Jared who was watching the whole scene. She took her aim and her pitcher of ice water hit Jared on the back of the head.

He turned around. "Hhhhholy crap, Tempe! You're still holding it against me, aren't you?"

She smiled innocently. "I never hold grudges."

He nodded slowly, disbelievingly. "Uh-huh. Sure."

It was a stand-off. You could practically see the tumbleweeds and hear the classic _woo-wee-woo-wee-woo wah-wah-wah._

Jared slowly lowered his hand into his canvas tote. "It's about time you get 'nitiated into this town, Little Lady."

His hand moved around in the empty canvas tote. His eyes grew large.

Brennan's smile grew larger.

He ran the other way.

Brennan spotted the laundry basket and ran up to it, picking up the three that were left over.

She followed Jared around the house and thought she'd lost him until she came back to the front yard and spotted Jared standing with his back to her. She moved through the brush slowly, arm poised for attack.

She aimed.

She did not miss.

Booth turned around.

"Oh, Booth! I'm sorry!"

Booth nodded at her water balloons. "Give me one of those, Bones."

She tucked them away a little bit. "No."

"C'mon. Play fair."

"No!"

"Give it to me!"

"No. You're just going to throw it at me."

"Bones. Now, why would I do that? Give it to me." He held out his hand and twitched his fingers toward him. "We're partners, Bones."

She took a few steps back. "No."

Booth continued to advance toward her. He couldn't help but to notice how her wet tank top was clinging to her body. He grinned and kept walking toward her. This time with a whole different agenda in mind.

"What's that look-- No. Parker-- Booth. No."

Booth just grinned and kept walking toward her.

"Booth," she said a little weaker, the heat rising to her cheeks. Her back flattened against the white siding of the house.

Booth kept moving closer until his body pressed against hers.

Jared came around the corner at that moment with Parker on his heels. He immediately did a 180 and put his hands over Parker's eyes. "Woah, this show just became PG13. Let's go inside."

Booth moved his hand up her sides, his fingers hooking on the wet material. He let his fingers slip under the material and move along her bare back. Their lips met slowly. Then his tongue ran along the bottom of her lip, pleading for entrance. She conceded, parting her lips. He pressed against her mouth, kissing her hard, tasting her, remembering what she felt like in his arms, knowing the firm breasts that were hidden just beneath the moist fabric that his fingers ran across.

The kiss broke.

"Do you think it's weird, Bones? Not kissing or anything for so long...?"

She shook her head. "No. It feels frighteningly normal." She grinned.

"Normal?" He pretended to be offended. "I'll have to fix that." He kissed her again, sucking softly on her tongue and nibbling at her soft lips.

* * *

_Thanks for the great reviews! And thank you for the suggestions, as well! _

_The next chapter will focus a bit on Anne & Mike's divorce. (This was a fabulous suggestion, thanks!)  
_


	19. Chapter 19

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XIX**

**The rating has been changed to M.  
**

Booth sat up and pulled the quilt over Parker. He lay between him and Brennan. A Disney movie was playing on the little television in the bedroom.

Next, he reached for the remote control. Before turning it off, he looked at Parker. His eyes were closed. He breathed shallowly, rhythmically. His partner-- Partner. She appeared to be asleep, too. He quickly tried to tuck away whatever dark thoughts were creeping around in his mind. Those worries were always there. What would happen if they took this to the next level? They were probably playing with fire. They may be screwing up a partnership that they'd been working hard to build for years. All because they couldn't control themselves. Or maybe it was deeper? He hoped so. He hoped it was a permanent situation. Something they were both willing to pursue, whether or not it risked their careers.

Either way, he liked what he saw.

Brennan was asleep on her left side, her left arm extended, Parker was laying next to her, his eyes closed.

He nodded to himself. Yeah, it was worth pursuing. He had to put away his negative thoughts on relationships. Sure, he was always the ray of sunshine when he was around Brennan. But he had doubts of his own about Happily Ever Afters. He had to put that aside. It was worth putting aside if he could see this even one more time. And if he was lucky, a dozen more times.

He put his hand between his partner and son, leaned close, and kissed her. He had been privileged to kiss her more than once in his lifetime. And he was even more privileged to know that she wanted to kiss him back.

She breathed in deeply, then opened her eyes. She raised her arm, resting her hand behind his neck and pulling him closer.

Parker shifted.

Brennan and Booth met eyes and smiled. He laid back on the pillow and put his arm around both of them, resting his hand on her hip.

"What?" She whispered. "What are you thinking?"

He sighed, "Just how perfect this all is."

"I don't understand," she replied.

Booth raised a brow. "You're thinking too literally, Bones. Not everything--" He knew that Brennan was thinking about his father and mother. "You. And Parker... This."

"I've been thinking," she said seriously. He could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"Me, too."

"You have?"

"The thing is..." He began.

"It's Cullen, right? You're afraid he'll reassign you."

"No, Bones... That's not what I was going to say. I mean, yeah, I'm afraid he will..."

"Me, too. Booth... I love being your partner. I love my job. I don't want to lose this--"

Booth's heart sunk into his stomach. "Yeah... I suppose that's the best--"

"I think it's worth the risk," she said, cutting him off.

"What?"

"You don't think it is?" She began to feel foolish. "I suppose you're right--"

"Bones. I think it's worth the risk, too. If I get reassigned, I get reassiged. That's just the way things are."

"Things can't stay the same forever. It's a scientific inevitability, that the state of ones'-- We can't stay stagnant--"

He interwove his fingers with hers. "Hey. Maybe we can keep this-- You know, to ourselves for a while. We'll figure it out."

She blinked quickly. A tear soaked into the pillow under her head. She hoped he didn't notice.

"Hey..." He ran his thumb along her jaw to her lips. "If I've learned anything in my lifetime, Bones, this--you and me--it's worth fighting for." His fingers traced her shoulder, arm, and then slipped into her hand.

Brennan smiled softly, then she laughed. "Angela will know the moment we see her."

Booth laughed. "I guess we'll have to blackmail her. Got anything good?"

"You think I should know something, right? Because I'm her best friend?"

"No. Because you're so good at it." She gave him a curious look. "Remember the day we became partners? You blackmailed me. You're pretty good at it, too."

Brennan stifled a yawn. "I am a woman of many talents... I'm sure I can come up with something if I give it some thought." She closed her eyes. "Maybe I should go to sleep on Anne's bed?"

"You're OK, Bones." His own eyelids were growing heavy.

The next thing he remembered, he was fifteen and standing in line to watch _Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_.

"Dad told us not to watch this," Jared whined.

Seeley rolled his eyes. Eleven year olds. Kids. "I'm not watching _The Neverending Story_. That movie's for babies." He reached out and pushed Jared out of line.

Jared stumbled and came back to the line, shoving Seeley back.

An older woman turned around, "If you kids are gonna mess around, you can turn right around go home."

Booth righted himself. "Thanks a lot, loser."

"I'm not a loser!"

The woman turned around again, staring the two of them down seriously.

Seeley sighed and whispered to Jared. "Look, Dad's not gonna find out. And you know why? Cuz you're not gonna say anything and I'm not gonna say anything. Capiche?"

"I'm so embarrassed that you're my brother."

"Well, that makes two of us." The line inched forward.

"Take it back."

Seeley turned around. "You can't make me."

"Such a jerk," Jared muttered.

A second later, a brown station wagon pulled up to the curb. The boys turned, recognizing the familiar grumble of the engine. Anne, red hair curled and permed, reached over and manually unrolled the driver's side window. "I hope you boys are in line to see _The Neverending Story_."

"See? I told you," Jared whispered to Seeley.

"Shut up, stupid." Then to his mother, "Yeah, Mom. Can't wait to see that giant flying dog thing!" He plastered on a smile.

The woman turned around and shook her head disapprovingly, then said to Anne, "This line's for _Indiana Jones_."

Anne threw the car into park and got out.

"It was Seeley's idea, Mom," Jared said defensively.

"What were you thinking?" Anne asked. "You boys know how your Dad gets. Shit! Dammit, he's gonna be pissed!" She turned around, putting her hand to her head. At that moment, she spotted the bar across the street. A man stumbled out of the bar, a woman ran after him. She was leggy and blond, wearing a tiny black dress.

The man was laughing in dunken hilarity. He stood up with the help of the leggy blond and began to run his hands all over her body.

"Mom, is that Dad?" Jared asked.

"Just--Stay right here. Don't you boys move."

She looked both ways and crossed the street. Anne was suddenly very aware of how "mom"-ish she felt. She was wearing typical acid wash jeans that rose above her belly button, white tennis shoes, a glittery tee shirt complete with big hair.

"What the hell are you doing, Michael?"

He looked up. "Having a drink. What the hell are you doing?"

"Just stay the f-ck out of our business, bitch," the woman said.

"Mike is my husband. And you are...?" Anne said, crossing her arms.

The blond woman looked between the two of them. "This is creepy shit. I'm outta here." She waggled away, tripping before she went back inside of the bar.

"Maxine's right. Mind your own damned business, Anne."

"This is my business. You're married to me, remember?"

"So I can't get a drink--"

"No. It's not about your little alcohol habit, it's about that woman who had her hands all over you. Are you cheating? Just tell me."

"F-ck. Am I cheating?" Mike advanced toward her. "You mean, am I f-cking Max? Yeah, I dip my wick in that. I've dipped it in half that bar. What the f-ck you gonna do about it? Go home, Anne. Go mop a damn floor." He turned and took a swig of his beer and began stumbling the other way.

"I'm leaving, Mike." Anne said with a resolute voice. "I've had enough. I--I can't keep doing this. It's over."

Anne turned and took a step off the curb.

"Bitch!" Mike swung at her.

She ducked and slapped him. "You're a sorry, pathetic sonovabitch."

He swung at her again, then pushed her into traffic.

A yellow Datsun sped down the road. The driver slammed on his brakes, but his reaction time was too little too late. Brakes screeched. Cars honked and slid.

Anne was thrown several feet and landed with her head beneath a parked car.

"Mom!"

Jared and Seeley ran across the road and stopped beside their mother. A couple of men from the bar restrained Mike as he struggled to free himself.

"She hit me first! Let me go!"

---------

Booth sat up in bed. His heart beat in his chest loudly.

He put his feet to the floor and walked into the bathroom and filled a disposable Dixie cup with water. It wasn't too long after that when the memory of the fear he felt for his mother subsided.

"I need to get out of here," he muttered. "This place is messing up my head."

He ran his hands under the sink and splashed cold water on his face. He dried it with a hand down and turned off the light. He immediately bumped into another person.

"Booth?"

He maneuvered her back into the bathroom and shut the door. The only light came from a night-light that was plugged into the socket. It simultaneously drowned the room in a dull glow and a fresh floral scent.

"Another dream?" She whispered.

"You're starting to read my mind, Bones. It's freaking me out."

"Enough with the jokes, Booth. Sweets would say that you're transferring. You're trying to displace your real feelings with humor."

Booth's lips twitched into a lop-sided smile. "What would Angela say?"

"That you're cute. I'm sure Cam would be somewhere in the middle." She looked at him. "What about the dream?"

Booth sat on the edge of the bathtub. Brennan sat on the toilet set. "We, um... I was dreaming about Jared."

"About hiding in the insulation again?"

He shook his head. "Nah. When I was fifteen we went to watch a movie. Not the one Dad wanted us to. Mom came along and soon after that--" He sighed. "She caught him cheating. He was drunk off his ass and there was a woman all over him. It was the straw, Bones. The straw that broke Mom's back. He got mad and pushed her into traffic."

"Oh, my G-d. Was she--"

"She fractured her pelvis."

"I was wondering how she did that," Brennan said thoughtfully. Then she refocused on Booth, a serious look crossed her face. "How can you have so much faith in marriage and love when you've seen these things? You and Rebecca. Your parents. We see husbands behead their wives and wives stab their husbands on a daily basis." She leaned forward. "I just don't understand, I guess."

Booth smiled. "My grandmother and grandfather were married for 46 years. They died within days of each other. When Granddad died, Grandma said she was going to die, too. She didn't have so much as cold as long as I knew her. She said her good-byes. Everyone thought she was senile, Bones. A week later, she was buried in the same plot. Right beside each other." He looked at the ground, then back at Brennan. "We see the worst side of people, Bones. Day in and day out, we see the true destruction that greed, jealousy, hatred, anger, and just plain evil can bring out in people. We can't let that make us forget about the good things that exist in this world."

"Good things? Can you give me an example?"

"Love."

The look he gave her was a little too intense and fraught with meaning. She stood up. "I--I don't believe--"

Booth stood up and walked up to her. The bathroom wasn't too large, so within a step and a half, she was pinned against the wall. "That's what I've heard before, Bones. Over and over, but I just so happen to know that I would never put my career or this--" He gestured between the two of them. "You and me. What we have. I wouldn't put it on the line for anything less than the sure thing. And I don't think that you would either, Bones."

She tried to avert her gaze, but no matter what, her eyes were drawn again to his. "You're just reading into--"

"No." He put his hand up to her face, his fingers against her lips. "I'm not reading anything into what we have, Bones. I know you, Temperance Brennan. I know you. I know that you live for your job. For the lab, your squints, anthropology, work--science. You would never, ever risk your career for something that wasn't like this. You wouldn't risk it for someone who--who when you walk into the room-- When you walk into the room, Bones, I can't breathe. When you lean over my shoulder, I know when you're using the jasmine shampoo or if you've switched to the vanilla-honeysuckle. I know your gestures, the way you smile a little half smile when putting your heart into drive. And I'm sure you could tell me a thousand things like that about me, too. Can't you? _Can't you?"_

She avoided his gaze. "Booth, you're just being--"

He cut her off with a hard, impassioned kiss. She didn't kiss back at first, then the feeling of his tongue probing her mouth made her thoughts change direction.

"OK," she whispered between his kisses. "You-- " He pulled the strap of her tank-top down and began to kiss her neck and bare shoulder. "You wear the black socks with white polkadots when we have to testify."

He kissed her lips roughly. "What else?"

"You wear the cologne I got you for Christmas every Friday."

He kissed her lips again.

"And..." He slipped the top over her head. "I know what a sexy librarian is."

He stopped kissing her and looked her in the eyes. He flashed a charming grin her way. "You what?"

"I'm not as naive as I let on sometimes."

He kissed her again. She pulled him close, then moved hr hands down his chest, her fingers sliding along every curve his muscular chest had to offer. She touched the hem of his shirt, then pulled it over his head.

"Wait," Booth whispered. He reached over and locked the bathroom door.

She reached around his back and slid his hands along his spine, then down to his butt. She clutched it tightly with both of her hands and pulled him tighter against her. It wasn't difficult to feel his arousal against her through the thin cotton layer of his pajama pants.

"Wow," she said, grinning a wicked grin. She moved her hands around to his front and grasped it firmly with one hand.

He groaned with pleasure as her fingers massaged him. "I... don't know how long I can take this, Bones."

"Then don't." And with one swift motion, she pulled his pants to his knees.

His lips had a mind of their own as they traced from her navel to her breasts to her lips.

"Enough with the foreplay," she whispered.

"Bones..." He kissed her and pulled her pajamas down. They, along with her panties, were thrown into the same pile as his pajamas.

He pressed against her, teasing her with is erection, but not going in. He teased and pulled back several times until she begged, "Please, Booth." He only smiled slyly and continued to tease her. "Please." She wasn't a beggar. She was a woman who took action. Which is exactly what she did. She grabbed his buttocks and wrapped her legs around him. Gravity alone forced him into her. She reached for the curtain rod, pulling her weight onto that to give him better leverage as he pressed into her and pulled out rhythmically, pressing her against the wall.

At one point she got a little too loud with grunting. He laughed and said, "Shhh."

"Sorry."

"No-- I like it. Just... don't wanna ...wake anyone."

"OK."

He pulled her tighter against her as he climaxed.

He held her close. They were both a little moist with sweat. "That was... wow."

"Yeah," he agreed.

Somebody knocked at the bathroom door. "Is someone in there?" The handle jiggled.

"For the love of G-d, Jared, use the bushes!" Booth yelled.

"What?"

"The bushes!" Brennan shouted.

On the other side of the door, Jared blushed and walked quickly down the hallway and out into the garden.

* * *

_Just a little fluff. (A little???) I meant, a lot._


	20. Chapter 20

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XX**

"You got your stuff, Buddy?"

Parker nodded and flopped on the couch. He curled onto his side and closed his eyes.

The door bell rang and Booth hopped up to get it. On the other side, Rebecca stood. "Hi, Seeley. Where's Parker?" She looked around.

"On the couch. He's not quite awake yet."

"Did he eat yet?"

"No."

Rebecca pushed past Booth, despite his best efforts to keep her contained on the porch. She spotted Parker and walked up to him. Sitting on the edge of the couch, she shook Parker gently. "Sweetie. C'mon, Park. We need to get on the road."

Parker curled into a tighter ball. "Noooo..."

"Come on."

"No!"

"Parker Matthew Booth, I don't have time for this." Whenever a mother uses her son's full name, it never means anything good. And Parker knew that.

He began to sit up. "I'm tired."

"You can sleep in the car."

At that moment, Jared opened the bathroom door wearing only a towel. A lone toothbrush hung from his lips. "Bathroom's free if you and Tempe--" The mischievous smile disappeared from his face. "Oh, hey. Rebecca. How's it going?"

Rebecca blinked a few times. "Jared. It's going fine." Then to Booth, "Tempe?"

Booth ran his hand through his hair. He had really hoped to avoid this whole conversation. Honestly, he thought that it wouldn't even need to be had. That is, until that morning. "Uh.. Bones."

"Dr. Brennan? I take it that Tempe is a nickname?"

Jared laughed as and Tanya walked to their suit cases, towel-clad, "Bones, Tempe, Honey, Sexy--"

Booth sighed, "Jared. I swear, if I get you alone--"

Rebecca didn't quite want to get into this conversation either, but as it was, apparently her ex didn't understand what was considered appropriate or inappropriate. "Wait. Dr. Brennan is here?"

"Yeah."

"Where?" She could feel herself getting more than a little perturbed.

"She's asleep, Rebecca. Can't we talk about this some other time?"

"Your partner. Your partner is here? Exactly how close are you and Dr. Brennan?"

"It's none of your damn--" He looked over at Parker. Then he smiled. "Let's take this outside for a second."

"Gladly."

They walked outside and began to argue in low tones. "It's none of your damn business if Bones is here, Rebecca. And it's sure the hell isn't any of your business how close we are."

"True. I'll give you that, Seeley, but what you're forgetting is that _our_ son is in _your_ care!" She crossed her arms.

"Do you really think I would abuse Parker? Expose him to things he can't understand yet? Who do you think I am? Huh? And don't you have a boyfriend? I'm sure you two aren't exactly celibate!"

"And _that_ is none of _your_ business!"

"Yeah, well, it is now, Rebecca. You brought up my sex life and now I'm bringing up yours."

"You're sleeping together now?"

Booth could hardly suppress the blush that came with the memory of that morning. He nodded.

"That's great. That's just great, Seeley."

Now Booth was feeling just a smidgen under irate. "Why? Why is that great, Beck?"

She ran her nails through her hair anxiously, then turned to him. "Do you know how many times I've had to tell Parker that you and Dr. Brennan are work partners?" Booth looked a little shocked. "A lot. He's not stupid, Seeley. He sees you two making eyes at each other. He's told me stories about you two. And then he asks me things like if you two are boyfriend and girlfriend, do you kiss, do you love each other... And I've had to tell him no every single time and explain the difference between being just friends and being lovers. Now what do I tell him, Seeley?"

"Rebecca--"

"Just save it, Seeley." She raised a hand up. "Did he see you two kissing? Making out? Please tell me he didn't see anything more. I haven't _quite_ got that conversation planned out."

"You can stop right there, Rebecca. He saw nothing. He--He may have seen us kiss. He definitely didn't see anything more. And you don't have to worry. I'll have a talk with him."

Rebecca's face relaxed. "You will?" She glanced at her watch.

"What? Now?"

"Fifteen minutes, Seeley. You're cleaning up your own mess." She sighed. "Look. I don't mind that you two are... whatever you two are... I just don't appreciate looking like a liar in front of our son and... as it turns out, I've already gotten my share of the conversations around here. Girls. Kissing. Bullies. And I know it's not your fault. Your job is time consuming, but I think that this is a conversation for a father and a son." She put her hands on his chest and gave him a characteristic pat.

Booth shook his head. "You know, I don't exactly like being a part-time Dad. I hate that I miss out on a lot of Parker's life. It kills me."

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah. I know. I wish it could be different. Sometimes I wish that things between us--"

"Don't," Booth said. "No regrets. It's better this way. When we're together, we're not fighting or lying or calling each other names. That will count for something some day."

Rebecca nodded and looked over Booth's shoulder. She could see him looking at them through the window from the couch. "You're right."

Booth smiled. "I'll go talk to him. How much time do I have now?"

"Take all of the time you need."

They both went back inside where Parker was sitting. "Are you guys mad?"

Booth shook his head. "No. We were just talking. We had a little misunderstanding, but it's all fixed now."

Rebecca took a seat on the couch beside Parker.

"Hey, Parker, can I have a little talk with you--"

Brennan opened the bedroom door. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Booth grinned. "You looked peaceful. Hey, um, I need to talk to Parker in private. Why don't you ladies have a chat. Huh? Talk shop. Bon-Bons. Makeup. Magazines..."

Brennan gave him a strange look and sat on the couch next to Rebecca.

"Dr. Brennan."

"Rebecca."

"So..."

"So." They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes after Booth and Parker disappeared. "A recent discovery in Peru unearthed the plantings of various farms, dating back 9 thousand years. The discovery is said to provide evidence that early agricultural development began in the Andes."

Rebecca's eyes grew wide. So... this is what happens when Brennan is backed into a corner. She stops speaking English. "Uh-huh..."

In the garden, Booth took Parker to a place... far from the bushes. They took a seat on a large stump.

"Hey... It's been great to have you here, Parker."

"I know. Hey, Dad, can I come and visit Grandma for Christmas? I don't wanna go to Vermont again."

"We'll work something out. Something so that we can both get you. Your Mom and me."

"Good. Cuz I hate it when I don't get to see you on Christmas. It sucks."

Booth laughed a little. "Yeah. I have to agree with you there. It does suck. So... your Mom wanted me to talk to you about something serious. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about it, too." Parker looked up at him. "It's about me and Dr. Brennan. We... We're... dating." That was stranger coming out than he thought it would feel. "She's my girlfriend." That was even stranger. Girlfriend? They seriously needed to come up with a word that didnt make it sound like a high school fling.

"Yeah," Parker shrugged. "I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'm not stupid. You guys keep making kissy faces at each other."

Booth was stunned.

"Hey, Dad, _do_ you guys kiss?" He scrunched his nose and looked up at him.

Booth couldn't help but to smile. It was the first time he was having a 'guy talk' with his son. "Yeah. We do."

Parker took in this information, then looked back at his Dad. "Do you guys have sex?"

Booth was now blown away. "H--What??? How do you even know that word?"

Parker shrugged. He didn't exactly know, but chances were it began with a T and ended with a V. "I dunno. Well, do ya?"

Booth blinked a few times. "Uh... Look..."

"It doesn't make me mad or anything. I was just asking."

"Well... What do you think?" He decided to use Brennan's tactic.

"I dunno. Yeah?"

"Yup. That's the answer. This was a good talk, Parker."

Parker rolled his eyes. "Hey, Dad?"

Booth smiled tightly, fearing the worse. "Huh?"

"Do girls really have cooties?"

Booth thought on it and smiled. There was only one girl he ever accused of having cooties. She was eight and had a huge pair of pink glasses, pigtails, and a genius IQ to boot. "Only the girls who are worth knowing." He rustled his hair and they went inside.

Brennan was bent slightly forward as if she was passionately discussing something, "The ICB is the inter-canine breadth measurement. The authors actually had the audacity to say that the ICB can't fully explain the nasal breadth from the sample set! Can you believe that? It only goes to show how truly underfunded the staff at GWU must be. They mustn't have even shopped around in the hiring process. It's ridiculous."

As soon as Rebecca noticed they weren't alone she stood up, looking fully relieved. "It was nice talking to you, Dr. Brennan. We should get going." At the door, she whispered. "Did the talk go well?"

"Mm-Hm," Booth nodded, maybe a little too convincingly.

Brennan stood up and crossed over to the door. "I'll give you call. We can finish this conversation on Prognathasm another time. We haven't even touched on how they suggested that the plesiomorphic retention of a prognathic lower face is due to the extended time the premaxillary sutures remain open during development. It's not that I disagree, but I find it quite fascinating that--"

"We should go," Rebecca said, trying desperately to get out the door.

"Bye, Parker!" Brennan said brightly.

"Bye, Bones."

"Bye, Rebecca. Bye, Parker."

"Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Seeley."

When the door closed, Booth whirled around. "What did you say to her? I've never seen her leave so fast!"

_  
_

* * *

_(A lot of Brennan's speech was quoted from Anthropology -dot- net Neandertal Broad Noses Due to Lower Face Prognathism)_


	21. Chapter 21

**_A Boy From Philly_**

**Part XXI**

Booth knocked on Anne's hospital room door lightly. Nobody answered. He shook his head and turned the handle. Inside, the bed was made and everything was ready for a new patient to occupy it.

"Huh. She must've already checked out," he muttered.

"She's probably in your father's room."

"Yeah. Let's go upstairs."

They walked to the elevator and both reached for the button. Booth let Brennan press it in. They stood silently, waiting. The elevator doors opened and a few people came off and Brennan and booth entered. The doors slid closed and the elevator began to rise.

Booth finally turned and addressed the unspoken tension that had existed since they got into the SUV. "Look, Bones--" The elevator lights flickered. He paused, then continued. "About what happened--" The lights flickered, then shut off completely. The elevator stalled and the emergency backup lights lit up the elevator in a subdued glow. "What just happened?"

"I think the power just went out."

Booth shook his head and reached for the emergency phone. "Hospitals have backup power, Bones. This is mechanical." The phone rang a few times before it picked up.

"Security," was the answer.

"The elevator between the first and second floors is stalled." Booth held the phone to his head and looked over at Brennan whose arms were crossed and was leaning against the back of the elevator with her eyes gazing at the ceiling.

"OK. We'll get right on that." The man spoke as if he had food in his mouth.

"How long will that take?"

A sound of sipping. "Ah. Couple hours."

"And you can't speed that up?"

"Last time this happened they had to climb into the shaft and tinker with the mechanics of the thing."

"What if there was someone having a heart attack in here?"

"Is there?" He didn't sound worried in the least.

"No--"

"Two hours."

Booth shook his head in disbelief and hung the phone on its hook. "Looks like we'll be here for a while, Bones."

She tightened her bottom lip in acknowledgment, then slid to her bottom.

Booth walked over and sat down beside her. "What's going on, Bones?"

She was silent again. Booth could tell she was mulling something over in her mind. Then she turned toward him abruptly. "Do you mind if I address a few concerns?"

"Sure."

"What you said to me--"

"About love?" Booth began to feel worried.

Brennan smiled. "I wasn't going to say anything about that." The smile faded. "I think that... after what happened this morning--"

"Making love," Booth supplied. The words brought back heated memories.

"Yeah. Um... After we made love... You have the right to know something about me. Logically speaking, if we're going to become... intimate... then you ought to be forewarned. I'm a terrible girlfriend." The words were spoken so seriously that Booth almost began to laugh.

"Bones--"

"I'm being totally honest, Booth. The longest relationship I've ever had was with Sully. And you can see how that turned out."

"Bones, that wasn't your fault."

"I know that. I know that he sailed away, but he sailed away and I _let _him. And metaphorically speaking, I let every man before Sully and every man after Sully sail away." She shook her head. "I'm a saboteur. I tend to sabotage the relationships I'm in no matter how good or bad they are."

Booth didn't say anything at first. Then he spoke, "I think... that if Sully had stayed in DC then things would've been different, Bones. You might even have a couple of little Sullys running around by now. I'm glad he sailed away."

"There's more, Booth. Every relationship I've been involved with was doomed from the start. With Michael, he was my professor and the thing that made us hot for one another--competition--was the very thing that brought it to an end. Both times. And with David, I dated him even though I didn't know anything about him. And the next thing I knew, he was trying to get me to shave my head. Don't laugh, Booth. This is serious!"

Booth smothered the grin. "Sorry, Bones. Go on."

"When I was sixteen I dated a man named Eric. He was twenty-three and my foster mother's son-- There was the man who killed his brother, a married man who I dated in my twenties, and of course you know about Jason and Mark. I didn't want anything serious and of course the duel relationship went against societal norms and I never once felt special or... safe. And with Sully--I let him sail away because I didn't want--I knew I would miss you. And I was afraid of how serious it would become if I went with him. And now, with you-- We're partners. We're colleagues. It's against FBI rules and regulations for us to be in a relationship and yet we persist. What if that's the thing that triggers the surge of endorphins and seratonin that makes us want to tear each other's clothes off? Don't interrupt me. I'm afraid that when the fog settles, when we're back in DC and we have to face Cullen and Cam and real life, that we won't want each other and we'll be left sans partnership and sans friendship and sans relationship. I care for you deeply, Booth and I don't want to hurt you, but I'm afraid that it's an inevitabil--"

He kissed her, cutting off the speech she had so carefully prepared. It was a kiss full of bitter-sweet passion. When it broke, Booth held her face in his hand and looked into her eyes. "Would it calm your fears if I told you that I'm in love with you? I know it's a little early in a relationship to say that, and maybe it's a little cliche, but it's been five years, Bones. I've had five years to reach that conclusion. I'm committed to this. To us. I'll figure out how we can remain partners. Cam won't care--She's already asked me two or three times if we were together. Angela's blurted it a few times herself. I'm sure that once we get back, they'll shrug and say that it's about time. Bones... Everything is going to be OK. And I've got something the other guys don't have--"

"What?"

"Experience."

"Sexual experience? I don't see--"

"Bones, I mean with you. We've already been together for four years. I know what makes you tick. Sex and being able to tell you that I love you? That's just the icing on the cake. We're in this together, Bones. We always have been and always will be. We're partners."

Brennan nodded slowly, "Yes. We're partners."

Booth smiled and leaned back against the walls of the elevator again. "You know what, Bones? I can't wait for this vacation to end. Get back to a little bit of normalcy."

She turned her head and smiled at him."Where's a dead body when you need one?"

"Don't say that, Bones, you'll jinx us."

Brennan's grin turned playful. "If you're relying on superstition to avoid dead bodies, you shouldn't have gone to a hospital."

He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her a little closer to him. "That's my girl." And then he kissed her forehead.

* * *

_Thank you for all of the great responses! _

_I've written a couple of one-shots. They're on my profile. One is called "Toe-Curling" and the other is called "I'd Tap That"... they should make you smile. :D  
_


	22. Chapter 22

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXII  
**

_"Take my hand, we'll make it I swea-ear! Woa-oh! Livin' on a prayer!"_

Booth reached for his phone. "Booth."

"Where are you guys?" It was Jared.

"In a two-ton casket. Where are _you_?"

"Ah, man. You're not the ones who are stuck in the elevator, are you?"

"Yup. Me and Bones."

Jared could be heard chuckling on the other end. "Better get comfortable, Seeley. It's gonna be a while. From what I heard, last time that happened--There isn't a pregnant woman in labor in there, is there?"

"No," he replied shortly.

"Yeah. Get comfy. Tanya and I are in the room with Mom and Dad eating lunch... Too bad. We ordered _extra_. Heh." He hung up.

Booth looked annoyed. He shook his head and hung up the phone. "Maybe we can get out of here."

Brennan stood up and dusted off her pants. She looked up at the ceiling. "It's possible. Perhaps if we remove the ceiling tiles, we could crawl up the ladder towards the second floor doors. Similar to how Cam and I removed Patty Hoyle from the elevator shaft."

Booth made a face, "Bones, did you have to bring that memory to light?"

"Don't tell me you're disgusted by human remains all of a sudden."

"Bones, I've always been disgusted by human remains--especially the ones that we work with. It just so happens that I'm a master of keeping my lunch down. I've never seen anything so disgusting as that elevator shaft and I doubt I ever will again."

Brennan shrugged. "Actually, there are many more revolting ways in which one could dispose of a human body. In my new manuscript, the killer is going to dismember and freeze the victim in liquid nitrogen before dumping the remains from a freeway overpass."

Another face. "Seriously, Bones. I'll read it when it comes out. Until then, let's try to get out of here. There is no way in hell I'm just going to sit for two hours. It's not my style."

"I have to agree with you, there."

"Hey, Bones. Let me give you a boost. Maybe you could get up in the shaft first. We gotta be---what?--ten feet or so from the second floor?"

"We'll see when we get up there. Interlace your fingers and I'll stand in them."

Booth did as he was directed, interlacing his fingers for Brennan to stand in. She put one foot in his hands and he boosted her into the air. She stretched her fingers to the ceiling, her shirt raising an inch or two above her slacks, making Booth catch his breath.

He looked up. "You got it, Bones?"

"I think so..." She pushed aside the tile and lifted her torso into the elevator shaft. The doors were about twelve to fifteen feet above their heads. "I don't know, Booth--"

Out of frustration, Booth began to make a gesture, completely forgetting Brennan for a fraction of a second. Brennan slipped from the hole in the tile and tumbled down. Booth tried to catch her, but she ended up taking the brunt of the force from the fall.

"Uh!"

"Ouch!"

Booth rolled onto his back and put a hand up to his head, then he looked over at Brennan who was also rubbing her head.

"What was _that _about?" She reached over and slapped him.

"Yow! Bones! You think I did that on purpose?"

"I think I have a concussion. You were supposed to give me a boost, Booth! Not-- Ow. I have a goose egg on my head now."

Booth rolled onto his stomach and crawled over to her. "Let me see, Bones."

She slapped at his hand. "I'm OK."

"Bones, seriously. Let me see."

"I don't see why you have to. There's nothing you can do."

"Bones, stop being stubborn. Just let me check on you, OK?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

He slipped his hand behind her head and began to search her scalp with his finger tips. Eventually he came to the goose egg. "Ah, Jeez, Bones. That's gotta hurt."

"Yeah, well, it does. Touching it only makes it hurt more. Are you satisfied?"

With annoyance now coating his voice, Booth remarked, "You know, it wouldn't hurt you to let someone take care of you every once in a while. It's not like I'm asking you to be barefoot and pregnant, Bones. Just let me check your injuries, defend your honor every once in a while, make you dinner... Stuff like that."

She narrowed her gaze at him. "You... would make me dinner? I didn't know you could even cook."

He smiled down on her. "I make a mean spinach lasagna."

"I would like that some time."

"What about the other stuff?"

She relented. "Objectively, you've already defended my honor. On more than one occasion. You seem to have a penchant for doing so. And you've already checked my injuries. As far as the barefoot and pregnant comment goes--"

"Bones, I was just kidding with that. I don't expect that out of you."

"What _do _you expect?"

"This..." He reached for her hand and kissed her fingers gently. "And this..." He closed the distance between their lips and kissed her. It was only meant to be a short, sweet peck, but Brennan wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer into a deep kiss, tangling her tongue with his and running her fingers through his hair. He kissed back and for that moment--well, _moments_-- he couldn't believe his luck. He couldn't believe his eyes. And he most certainly could not believe his wandering hands, either. He realized how excited he was getting so he quickly pulled back. He was breathing hard and could hardly get out the words, "Bones--We better stop--"

She smiled puckishly (that's playfully or impishly to the layman) and pulled him close once again. _Men_. For the most part, if you aren't willing to play the celibate card, they aren't able to themselves. It was a two way street and Brennan was trying very hard to make it a one way street. "I've never had intercourse in an elevator, before," she whispered in his ear.

He pushed her back a little, "Bones. You gotta stop. _Please_." Somewhere in his mind, he pictured the elevator magically powering up and the doors opening for all to see their--um, activities. That would be a nightmare. Especially if the crowd included his mother and brother. "Bones, stop!" She didn't listen to him, she began to run her tongue along the lobe of his ear, driving his mad and making him harder by the second.

This was a fun game Brennan was playing. Booth, the unwilling, yet quite interested participant, was pushing her away but turning her on all at once. And to say it didn't bring to memory a certain Christmas kiss would have been a fib. She was quick to tell him that he _would _kiss her and there was no second guessing to be had. Now, his words told her _no_, but she felt his biological reactions to her kissing, licking, nibbling, and unbuttoning his shirt screaming _yes_.

**

_Somewhere in the security room..._

Jeff reached for another doughnut and propped his feet up on the counter. He sipped a Pepsi and watched a small TV near his feet. "Yeah! Three pointer. That oughtta teach you to mess with The Boss!" His eyes darted momentarily to the security cameras. They darted back to the game.

Something registered.

His eyes darted back. He narrowed his gaze, squinted, eye brows shot in the air. "Woah, baby!"

He put down his feet and looked closer at the security video. He reached for the phone and it was picked up. "Hey, it's Jeff. Hey, there's no hurry on the elevator fix. Yup. Just like last time. I'll send you a copy. Thanks, Earl." He hung up the phone.

**

She shifted positions with him so that she was on top. She pulled open his shirt and slid it down his shoulders. "I--I don't think this is a good idea, Bones..."

"Shut up, Booth."

One eyebrow raised. "What?"

She crossed her arms and grasped the hem of her shirt. In one continuous motion, the shirt was shed. Booth groaned and tried to close his eyes. No such luck. He couldn't help but to look, for his eyes to wander down her cleavage, her soft skin, her navel-- "Bones--" His hands moved of their own accord along her torso, tugging at her bra. It was too much.

"Why don't you put your brain in park, Booth?"

"You mean neutral?"

She didn't answer. She just unclasped her bra.

"Bones... just put your shirt back on..." He never thought that he would ever be uttering those words.

She put her hands on her hips. "What? You don't like what you see?"

"Oh... I like... I _love _what I see..."

"OK, then." She began to unhook his belt buckle with such stunning accuracy and speed that it was as if she had done it in her sleep a million times.

"Woah, woah, Bones!"

She yanked the belt off with grand flourish and threw it aside.

Oh. That was so friggin' hot. "Bones..." From the sound of his voice, his strong fiscade was crumbling.

And for once, she did not miss the verbal cues of anxiety and arousal. "Just make love to me already." It was more of an order. "If you're worried about the elevator being fixed and us being exposed, there's a higher chance of that occurring the longer you fight it."

She made a strong case.

Without a word, he began kissing her deeply. He took a quick break. Long enough to say, "Bones, we gotta make it to a bed eventually."

"Everything happens eventually. You said so yourself. Now stop talking."

"Yes, Dr. Brennan."

A smile crossed her lips. "Say that again."

His brow raised. "Dr. Brennan...?"

The smile widened. She began to fiddle with the button on his jeans. "Special Agent Seeley Booth. F... B... I!"

Now Booth was the one grinning. "You like dirty talk?"

"No," she said defensively.

Booth grabbed her thigh and flipped her so that she was on bottom. "_Professor _Brennan." He began to take down her pants. "Time to see the President."

She laughed.

"Bones, this is just weird."

"Your mistake was the professor comment." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. "I'd be lying if I said that the partnership thing didn't do something for me."

"We're _just _partners, Bones."

She rolled her eyes.

Booth's brows shot northward. This was getting interesting. Perhaps he should pinch himself? Elevator PLUS Nude Partner PLUS Freaky Talk? And his ailing father a floor above. He was going to hell. Uh-huh. In a hand basket. Overnight Delivery.

Ah, he'd repent later.

Besides, his fingers were moving too fast to slow them down anyway. The remaining clothes were shed and once again, he was reliving a hundred fantasies. Maybe he was drunk? Or maybe he was just lucky. Good things don't happen to people like him. People who have done such terrible things... He didn't deserve this. Her. He didn't deserve her.

Her finger nails traced his spine. He sunk into her and with that rocking motion, all ill thoughts disappeared... for the moment.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Her hands rested against the walls of the elevator. Her blue eyes smiled back. "Stop... thinking."

He laughed. She knew him so well. And usually it was _him _telling _her _not to think so much. "Keep it down, Dr. Brennan." He traced the soft milky white skin of her collar bone with his lips. Her nails bit into his back and shoulders.

Everything seemed to align, as if by magic or some other force. Their bodies, their minds, the Grande Scheme. Love her now, later everything will work out. Nothing is without torment or worry. No journey is without road blocks. But at that moment, everything was OK. And he was determined to live in that moment for as long as it would last.

"I love you, Bones." He said it sincerely. It wasn't prompted by fear or passion. Just by the sincerest love that one friend can give the other. A love that grew over time, despite the fact that it was never given the benefit of water or fertilizer--just long diner conversations, deep revelations, and understanding.

He held her close and kissed her lips with a tenderness that even cut through the vigors of motion and _e_motion.

She held his gaze for nothing short of an eternity. "I know," she whispered. "And I'll tell you the same. Just not now."

He couldn't have expected more. In fact it was more. It was more than he'd ever wished for.

He kissed her again.

* * *

_Happy Holidays and thanks for the reviews! (Originally the elevator wasn't supposed to get... PG13+, but the direction was nudged ever so gently.)_


	23. Chapter 23

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXIII  
**

From across the room, Brennan watched the door open. Light and noise from the bustling hallway poured in as Anne slipped through the crack and walked in. She crossed her arms and walked over to Mike. Mike was laying in the bed, breathing in shallowly and gurgling with every breath. He hadn't opened his eyes since he spoke to Parker. Time was slipping away.

Anne's eyes tipped up to see if the two in the room were asleep as before. Brennan shut her eyes. Booth was still asleep. Assured that they were indeed asleep, Anne sat on the edge of Mike's bed. Her hand slipped into his.

Brennan tried to understand what that look on Anne's face was. She wasn't still upset about the elevator fiasco, was she? They were safe and sound. She needn't worry any more.

No. That wasn't it. Brennan's forehead creased as she studied Anne's face a little closer. Worry etched her face. Fatigue. Sadness. Loss. But it didn't make sense to Brennan. Mike had been dying for a while. Wasn't the length of a summer enough to let go of someone who is dying? And not just anyone, but a man who was markedly bad.

Anne looked up again. Brennan's eyes were shut. She lay still as possible, her head leaning against Booth's strong shoulder. Anne watched as her thumb circled Mike's pallid hand. "It's OK," she whispered. She looked up to make sure she hadn't made anybody stir. Brennan and Booth were both still seemingly asleep. She looked back down at Mike. "You can let go now." Several seconds passed. Although Brennan couldn't see tears in the dull light, Anne wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She continued with a voice heavy laden with turmoil and despair. "I'm going to be a grandma again. Can you believe it? I'm just... so, so thankful. I think Tanya is a_ nice girl_. Jared couldn't have picked a better one. And I think our Seeley is going to be alright, too." She sniffed and breathed a shuddering breath in. "Our boys are happy. And I'm moving on. Bob is a great guy. He puts up with me--" She laughed a little. "Even if I'm not too easy to understand all the time. Even through all of _this_. He... He asked me to marry him. Can you believe a sixty-seven year old woman getting married?" She paused, then said, "But... in spite of it all, I still love you. I always will." She leaned close and kissed Mike's forehead. "You can go now."

By then, Brennan was beginning to feel guilty for eavesdropping. She sat up and said, "Anne?"

Anne stood up suddenly, "I'm sorry I woke you, sweetheart."

"No," Brennan shook her head. "You didn't. I woke on my own. I'm sorry I-- I'm just sorry."

Anne's face softened. "It's OK, hun." She took a seat.

Brennan didn't know how to deal with that residual awkwardness from being discovered. She stood up and crossed the room. "May I be forward with you and ask you a question?"

Anne looked up and smiled. She patted the seat next to her. Brennan took a seat. "_Only_... if you let me ask you a question in return."

"I suppose that's a fair trade."

"Shoot."

"Excuse me?"

"Go ahead and ask," Anne clarified.

"Oh." Brennan first decided on the wording of her question before asking, "Why, exactly, would you love a man who was so terrible to you and your children?"

Anne nodded. "I assumed that would be your question, Tempe. I suppose... that you ought to know the whole story... When I was eighteen, I met Michael at a church function. He was such a sweet young man. So handsome. Look at Seeley. He looked like him. You're surprised, aren't you? Cancer does terrible things to your body. He was... funny. So funny, Tempe. He always tried to lighten the mood. No matter what, he could always get me to laugh. He was an all around great guy. Funny, charming, sweet, protective... You can't blame me for falling instantly in love with him, can you?" She sighed.

"We married young and I had Seeley almost immediately. My family was always so upset with me for that. I was smart. I was at the top of my class in high school. I was going to be a nurse. I'm not saying it isn't possible to be a mother, a wife, and a student-- It was just impossible to be his wife and all of that. You notice the age difference between Seeley and Jared? He left. Not by choice. Everything was so perfect before he left. Sometimes it seems like it was a dream... Like it never happened." She smiled sadly at a distant memory. Then she sighed. "Vietnam... When Michael came back, he wasn't the same man. He was... he wasn't the same man. He was bitter and disturbed. He was angry and sad. He never told me what happened. All I can imagine is that something horrible happened and he didn't know how to deal with it."

She looked over at Brennan. "So he drank. And he drank. And he drank some more. And then he began to hit me. And I kept telling myself... I kept telling myself that it was going to change. That Michael was somewhere within this Mike. The man I fell in love with was somewhere in there. So I stayed. And I had Jared and Kevin..." She wiped a tear from her cheek, but her voice never quavered. "I should have left. There were at least a dozen times where I packed what I could and I dressed my sons in as much as they could wear--three pairs of underwear, four sweaters, three trousers-- And I couldn't. I always walked past our wedding picture on the way out and Michael smiled back at me. And as much as I wanted to leave Mike, I couldn't leave Michael. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," Brennan barely replied.

"I despised Mike. I feared Mike. I loved Mike. But I was in love with Michael. The funny, sweet, sensitive, respectful man I married. And I couldn't do it. I suppose that knowing the good that was inside of him kept me from accepting the bad part of him was there to stay." Anne's lip quivered. She reached up and dried her eyes. On impulse, Brennan reached over and held Anne's hand. Anne covered her hand with her own. "Now how about that deal, Tempe?"

"I'm sorry?"

"My turn."

"Shoot."

"Are you in love with my son? Now, you have to answer truthfully, or it just won't be fair that I shared all of that with you. I never told my sisters. I never told my best friend. Even the boys don't know a thing."

An internal war began within Brennan. The urge to say no. To explain her technical standing on the phenomenon of love. But something told her that lying to Anne would be among the worst things she would ever do. And if she was Booth's mother, chances were, she would see through her just as easily as Booth himself.

"I suppose I put you on the spot."

"No. It was a deal. I asked something personal of you and you asked something personal of me. I've promised and I'm not a liar."

Anne nodded and smiled. "Have you told him yet?"

Brennan's eyes fell to the ground.

"It wouldn't be right for you to utter those words to me and not Seeley first. You know,Tempe... It's hard to say that you will open your heart after you've been broken and hurt. I know. It's not easy. But the rewards are always greater than the risks. And for the record," Anne added in a low voice. "Seeley is everything like the man I married and nothing like the man who I was married _to_. He is much stronger minded, much more loyal, and I've never met a man who has the ability to love as much as he does. There is nothing to fear but fear itself." Anne patted Brennan's hand.

But Brennan did one of those things that she had only been seen to do on a few occasions. She pulled Anne into an impulsive hug.

* * *

_Thank you so very much for the reviews! =) They really do make my day!  
_


	24. Chapter 24

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXIV  
**

Night had fallen, and with it came sleep for everyone. Even Anne had fallen asleep in the chair next to Mike's bed. Her head was resting on her rolled up jacket. Her glasses hung around her neck like a necklace. Her perfectly manicured nails still clutched the nurse's call button like it was her only lifeline.

Tanya and Jared were asleep on the couch. Jared had stretched out on his back. Tanya lay on her side, her arm wrapped around Jared's waist. The hand was now sporting a plain gold band that hadn't been spoken of, but everyone had noticed.

Brennan was sound asleep in a chair and her feet resting in the seat of another chair.

Booth was not in the room. He walked down the hallway toward a soda machine that dispensed Dasani and fruit juices. He stood in front of it for a moment before pulling his wallet from his back pocket and picking a one dollar bill from among the cash. He slid the dollar in. The machine rejected it immediately. He straightened it and pushed it back in. It rejected it. This went on for a few rounds before Booth began to get frustrated. He pounded the heel of his fist on the machine and cursed it under his breath.

"Hey," came the voice.

Booth looked to his left, then to his right. "Oh. Hey. Doctor... Sweeney, right?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Rachel is just fine, too. This machine has a trick to it. All of the veteran doctors know it. All of the interns have to earn it." She took Booth's dollar from his hand. She straightened the edges with her nails. "First you put it in and then just as it catches it, you hit it." She put the dollar in, just as the machine began to draw the dollar in, she hit it with the heel of her hand. The machine took it in.

"Thanks." Booth picked out a water. It dispensed it. He took it.

"How is your family holding up? How are _you _holding up?"

Booth shrugged. "Just as well as I can, I guess. My mom's taking it pretty hard. So is my brother."

"I'm just about to go check on your father now. We can walk together if you like." They walked in silence until they reached the door. Then Rachel turned to Booth. "I, uh... I think it's naive to say to anyone that I know what they're going through, but if it means anything, I've gone through this with my own father. It's the reason I became an oncologist. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that his prognosis is so bleak. So... terrible."

"Thank you. That means a lot, Rachel."

A nurse came running down the hall, another one on her heels. "We have a code!" The nurse said to Dr. Sweeney before the three women burst into the door.

When Booth entered the room, he saw Anne was standing away from the bed with Jared's arms wrapped around her. Tanya and Brennan were standing side by side, feeling rather out of place. Nobody was crying. Anne's face was expressionless. Perhaps in the lack of expression, though, a thousand things were said more clearly than through tears or hysterics. They spoke of expectance come to pass, sadness, and peace.

Booth crossed the room and put his hand on his mother's shoulder. She looked up and touched Booth's hand reassuringly and nodded. Then her eyes went back to Mike.

Rachel put her stethoscope to Mike's chest and checked his pulse. "Stop," Dr. Sweeney told the nurses who were beginning CPR. "Stop," she repeated.

"He's not DNR." The nursed looked utterly confused.

"It doesn't matter. He's gone." She looked up at the clock. "Time of death... is 5:24."

The nurses straightened and removed their gloves and the mask from Mike's mouth.

The room grew quiet. Eight sets of eyes fell on Mike. He looked even grayer and colder. Life had left his body and there were two women in the room who had seen it often enough that it was instantly obvious to them that he was no longer alive.

Brennan reached for Booth's hand. Without looking at her, he squeezed it tightly. Then he turned and they looked into one another's eyes. No words had to pass between them for communication to be shared. They embraced tightly.

--

"How is your mom doing?" Brennan asked, pulling her knees to her chest.

He smiled weakly and looked over at her. "She's holding up." He looked up and watched the water ripple across the swimming hole.

"Booth... I'm sorry. I don't exactly know how else to express how sorry I am that... that you're going through this. I wish I could make your pain go away." She spoke genuinely and Booth knew it.

He looked over at her and smiled, resting his cheek on his fist. "Bones, you just said the right thing. When you speak from the heart, you always say the right thing."

"I did?" She smiled to herself and looked back over the water. "Are _you _holding up?" She looked back to him.

He shrugged and began to look through the pebbles he sat on for a skipping stone. He picked one and stood up. He skipped it and watched it until it dunked beneath the surface. He turned, his hands in his pockets. "It wasn't as bad as I thought."

She stood and walked up to him. "Because of being a homicide investigator? Working with death has thickened your skin, so to speak?"

He shook his head. "No. No, Bones. It wasn't as bad as I expected because I knew it was coming. At least... At least this way I had a warning. Yeah... maybe because I'm a cop. I have perspective. With some people, their loved ones just--"

"Disappear," she finished. "And you never know what happened to them." She nodded, crossed her arms over her chest and looked out again, her eyes watched a pair of ducks swim across the still water.

"Bones..." He let his comment drop and he watched the ducks as they waddled ashore. He knew she was talking about her own childhood and not knowing what happened until years later.

She looked at him. "You've shared so much with me this week. Why?"

"Because... there's nobody I would want to share those things with more in this world, Bones."

"Does it bother you that I haven't shared so much with you?"

"No... You've shared plenty, Bones. More than I ever thought Temperance Brennan ever _would _share with me." He smiled at her. They'd come a long way in six years, since he first laid eyes on her.

She didn't say anything in reply. And for a moment, Booth wondered if he should backtrack and if he had hurt her feelings. Then she said, "The last night before they left," she closed her eyes and pictured that night. It was more vivid than she thought it would be. Especially after trying so long to forget it all. "They went out of their way to tuck Russ and me in. I thought nothing of it. I thought it was odd--I was fifteen and they were tucking me in. Mom. I can still remember what she was wearing. She had a beautiful sky blue sweater. She said it reminded her of me because it was the color of my eyes." She laughed mirthlessly, then grew serious once again. "She knelt beside my bed and kissed me. She said, 'I love you, Temperance. Never forget that.' And then Max came in and he told me the same thing, except he emphasized that they loved me. And the next day they left and they never looked back. And to top it all off, they left out of their own free will and never said good-bye. They said they loved me." She looked at Booth. "What kind of people say they love someone and then leave like that? I'll never understand it." She looked out again, bitterness was in her voice.

Booth reached out his hand and slid his fingers down her arm until they tucked into her palm.

Brennan looked down into their clasped hands. She spoke quietly, thoughtfully, "Nothing hurt more in my life than that, Booth. Sometimes I try to quantify my feelings... in this case, hurt... and love... by explaining it away. And it has worked for me. Quite well. With one exception. I didn't realize that I was effecting others by acting so objectively. I'm sorry, Booth. I'm sorry that I made you a victim of my--"

_"Diamond ring, wear it on your hand. It's gonna tell the world that I'm your only man. Diamond ring. Diamond ring. Baby, you're my everything--" _Brennan answered her cell, "Hold on, Ange." She covered the mouth piece. "Did you mess with my ring tone?"

Booth tipped his head toward hers and poured on the charm smile.

"Diamond Ring? By Bon Jovi? You're not trying to send me any coded messages via ring tone, are you?"

The smile grew even more charming, if that was at all possible. "Now, why would I do that?" He put his hands in his pockets and walked away--more like, _sauntered _away, looking over his shoulder with a bit of mischief in his smile.

Brennan tried not to let her face grow warm. She uncovered her mouth piece. "Ange?"

"Sweetie! I've missed the _crap _out of you. I can't believe you have a signal. When are you coming home? When does your flight leave? Did you find any hotties among the Mayan mummies? Or was it all work, no play?"

"Ange, Ange! Slow down. The answers to your questions are: Tomorrow, I'm driving, Yes, and I'll take the Fifth."

"Hold the phone, Bren. You're _driving_? From _Belize_." Angela was sitting at Brennan's desk. She promptly stopped messing around on her computer the moment she became lost.

"Not from Belize. From--" Brennan looked toward Booth, but he was now missing and nowhere in sight. She spun around, gave up the search, then finished her sentence, "I'm in Philadelphia."

"Why? Did you miss your flight? Did the FBI make you track down a cannibal in the City of Brotherly Love? That's not very brotherly. P.S., Bren, you have an NKOTB wallpaper on your desktop. A little Old School eye porn for your welcome home present. Now, please explain the Philly thing."

"Angela, you're not eating at my desk, are you?"

"Mmm-mmm," Angela said, almost convincingly.

Brennan sighed, "Just wipe off the crumbs before you leave. And what's an NKOTB?"

"Sweetie, did you go to high school under a rock?"

"Apparently."

"Why are you in Philly?"

"I'm... Is it OK if I explain when I get home?"

"Oh. I get it. You're with a man, right? No. You're working a triple homicide. Count me out. I can wait 'til tomorrow for the gory details. What time will you be home?"

"I'll be home around noon, but then I have to be back here at the end of the week for a Memorial Service."

Angela made a face. "Ew. You are in a morgue, aren't you? Just disinfect before you leave, you might be able to seduce the pathologist or something. Oh! I've gotta run. Love you."

"Bye, Ange."

Brennan put her cell back in her pocket. She felt rather annoyed that she was on the verge of saying something very difficult and very important to Booth before Angela called. But she had missed Angela. It was good to hear from her.

She began to walk toward the brush in search of Booth when he swung through on the rope and fell into the river.

Booth's head appeared above the water. He shook out his hair. "Are you coming in?"

She smiled a half smile and turned around. Then she realized this was Booth. She turned back around and stripped to her underwear and bra, then walked into the river.

Booth floated on his back and looked up. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was aflame. He could never get sick of those summertime sunsets. He put his feet to the bottom and walked over to Brennan who was tipping her head back into the water.

"I'm gonna miss this place," Booth said.

"What? You're not coming here any more?"

"No. I came here for one reason. There's no reason to come here any more."

"Because of your father," Brennan stated, suddenly understanding. "What about Parker? Don't you want to bring him here? Show him this place? It has to hold _some _good memories for you."

Booth reached for both of her hands. "A million, Bones. But for every good memory, there's a bad one. When I was twelve, I remember this one summer that Jared and I came here every day building a fort--"

"A fort?"

"There's nothing left of it now. But the day that it was all finished, we wanted to come here and spend the night. We told Mom and Dad that we were staying the night at a friend's place. All I can guess is that he checked on us and in the middle of the night he came here--I don't know how he found it--" The night came thundering in like a light-rail from hell. "They're not all good memories, Bones. We should... We should get going."

He walked out of the river, leaving Brennan trying to process the new information that had just been given her. "Would it..." Booth turned. "Would it help any if I told you," she could feel her body turn hot then cold. "That I'm in love with you?"

Booth didn't smile. He just began to walk toward her with purpose.

That look scared Brennan. "That doesn't mean I've relented on the barefoot and pregnant scenario."

Now a smile just barely cracked his lips. He met her toe-to-toe in the river. Then he put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her. Then he leaned his head against hers. "It helps, Bones."

* * *

_Thanks again for all of your reviews and compliments!!! :D I really do look forward to them!_

_A little anagram decryption for you:_

_DNR: Do Not Rescusitate_

_NKOTB: New Kids on the Block (My sister was so into these guys!)_

_And "Diamond Ring" by Bon Jovi is probably one of the most romantic songs ever. Look it up. ;)  
_


	25. Chapter 25

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXV  
**

They lay in the darkness, eyes open, ears open. The only sound was of their escaping breaths. Side by side with their center hands interlocked, they spoke little and their eyes never closed despite the fact that exhaustion had crept in.

Booth stroked her hand with his thumb in gentle circles.

Finally, Brennan turned her head. Through the night, she could see the familiar silhouette of her partner's face. His nose, his forehead, his chin--features that had become second-hand. "Are you OK?" She whispered.

"Yeah." Seconds passed. "I'm going to stay behind tomorrow and do a bunch of paperwork. Arrange details with the funeral home. I'll be at the lab tomorrow afternoon."

"And then what?"

"We get back to our routine," he replied softly, so as to not wake Anne in the next room.

"I hate to be the one to break it to you, Booth, but our routine isn't going to be the same again."

A soft laugh let her know that he agreed. "Did you tell Angela?"

"Mm-mm. No. I figure that I'll just tell her when we get back to DC." She turned onto her side. "What about Cullen? I would suggest that we keep it from him, but simple reasoning suggests that once _one _person finds out, _every_one will. And I have a feeling Cullen wouldn't like finding out through the vineyard."

"Grape vine," he said, turning onto his stomach and kissing her hand. "I think we should give it a few days, though."

"To see if our relationship can withstand job pressures?"

He kissed her neck. "Because we can. And it's kind of hot."

Brennan is not a giggler. She hasn't giggled a day in her life. And if anybody ever says she has, they're deaf. Or crazy. But she laughed in a way that was as close to giggling as it was humanly possible for her.

He covered her mouth, "Shhh, Bones. My mom's in the next room. I'm not supposed to have girls over. Especially on school nights."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "You've gotta be--"

Her words were cut off with a sensuous kiss. He liked being able to do that.

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I want you to know that I love you, Bones. All of you. The doctor, the daughter, the sister, the friend, the partner."

"Why...?"

He knew what she was asking. "It's important that you know that it isn't going to change... the way I feel about you. It isn't about chemicals or hormones, Bones. It's about me loving everything there is to love about you."

"Everything?" Their lips met once again. It was long enough for Brennan to come up with a question. "What about... morning breath?"

He grinned and answered sarcastically, "Oh it turns me on, baby. You have no idea." He kissed her neck in that spot he knew drove her crazy.

Then a little more seriously, "What about how we disagree?"

"Hot." He kissed her again, sliding his hands under her top and pulling it over her head.

"In that case, don't call me baby. It sounds so juvenile."

"Keep it up, Bones, it's only gonna get you laid," he replied defensively.

"I don't like your cocky belt buckle. The joke is old now and the buckle with the eagle on it is more congruent with a professional workspace. Besides, I find it to be _very _distracting."

Booth pulled back sharply. "I _like _my belt buckle! It's my escape valve."

"Well escape somehow else, Booth. Just leave the cheap buckle at home."

Booth shook his head and disappeared beneath the blankets. He resufaced shortly. "That buckle was a gift."

"From _whom_?"

Booth grinned. "An ex girlfriend."

"It's going in the trash the moment we get back; you know that, don't you?"

Booth gritted his teeth. "Now you've gone too far. I don't tell you how to dress, do I?"

"With those socks and ties, I don't think I'd listen to your advice, anyway."

He kissed her with passion and yearning, pulling her closer for a deeper kiss, letting his hands touch her body and run through her silky hair. "I like my ties."

She wrapped her legs around his waist. "And the socks?"

"They're _classic_."

"They subtract from the serious atmosphere in which we work," she stated flatly.

"They add humor where there's nothing but death and decay. The socks stay, Bones." He kissed her again. "You know... the chunky necklaces aren't that professional, either."

Brennan glared at him, then tightened her thighs tightly around Booth and flipped him so that his back was on the mattress. "They're a trademark."

"A _cute _trademark." Booth smiled and drew her near to him with one hand, and pulled the blanket over them with the other.

Needless to say, the mattress did finally get a few miles put on it that night.

--

Booth smiled and looked over at Brennan. She was dead-to-the-world asleep and laying on her back.

Booth woke her with a kiss. As soon as her eyes began to flicker open, he muttered, "Good morning, _Mrs_. Booth."

She scowled at him and pushed him off the bed in such a swift motion that Booth didn't have a chance to catch himself. He fell off the mattress, hitting his face on the corner of the nightstand on his way down.

Brennan gasped and scrambled to the edge of the bed, "Booth! Are you OK?"

He curled onto his side, groaning, "Ow... Bones, what the _hell_!?" He clutched his eye with one hand.

And Brennan found it hilarious. She began to laugh uncontrollably until tears glistened in her eyes and her cheeks began to ache.

Minutes later, the two emerged from the bedroom to a grinning Jared. "Woah-ho-ho! _Seeley! _What happened to _you_!?"

Booth only blinked at his brother.

Jared leaned closer. "It was Tempe, wasn't it? Dang, you two need to slow down or you'll kill each other. I knew she was a take-charge kinda gal... but _damn_!"

"Jared, just shut up."

"I really didn't take you for the S&M type, but--"

"I will shoot you, Jared and not think twice."

Jared began to laugh.

Anne came out of the bathroom and looked at her sons. Her eyes went to Seeley and her mouth dropped slightly. "What happened?"

"Ah, nothing."

"Tempe beats him, Mom," Jared explained with a straight face.

'We don't joke about that in this house, Jared. How about pancakes for breakfast?"

"That would be lovely, but I have to get to the lab before noon," Brennan replied, pulling her suitcase out of the bedroom.

"You're not going to skip breakfast, are you? I'll fix you some toast. You can't run on nothing, hun."

Brennan looked to Booth for help, but Booth only shrugged. "She's a mom, Bones."

"Uh..." Jared reached for Tanya's hand and brought her to his side. "Speaking of moms, I guess we should say something formally. You know, since Dad's passed. We just didn't want to say anything until after. Tanya's pregnant."

Everyone just looked at the couple without a stitch of the surprise they'd expected.

Jared turned to Booth, "Did you tell everyone, Seeley?"

Booth shook his head."They figured it out on their own."

"Your ilia have shifted," Brennan said to Tanya. "It's easy to spot when you know the signs to look for. What are you... twelve weeks?"

"Thirteen," Tanya replied. "You know, you aren't half bad, Tempe. Can you read palms, too?" The question was a tad sarcastic and rhetorical.

"Palm reading isn't a valid science," Brennan replied.

Tanya laughed.

"Well, I'm happy for you two," Anne said, kissing Tanya on the cheek. "I knew it, too. But it's because you've got the glow, sweetheart. You two will be great parents." She leaned close to Jared, he bent a little for her to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thanks, Mom. But there's more...We're...."

"We're married," Tanya said.

Now the shock and surprise that they had expected was on every face but the new bride and groom.

"When?" Anne asked, finally regaining her voice again.

"We got married last week, but then Dad got worse, so we didn't want to say anything yet."

"Sweetie," Anne said with a mixture of sadness and sympathy in her voice. "You should have let us know."

"We just... the night we found out we were going to be parents, we went out on a crazy whim. That's kind of why we showed up late. We were in Atlantic City. I'm sorry we didn't say anything."

Anne smiled, "Well, I think it's romantic. Congratulations."

Booth grinned, putting aside his shock and hugged his brother, "Congratulations, Jared." Then he turned to Tanya, "Welcome to the family, Tanya." He kissed her cheek, "Watch out for this one, he's shifty."

Brennan hugged Tanya. "Congratulations," she whispered in her ear. Then to Jared, "Congratulations, Jar Head."

Jared hugged her back, then grinned and said, "Thanks, Aunt Tempe."

Brennan glared at him, then hit him in the shoulder.

He grabbed his arm tightly, "Dammit, Tempe, your bony fingers hurt like hell!"

She smiled proudly. "Serves you right."

"Wow, what a morning." Anne wiped a tear from her eye. "Here I was thinking I was down one family member, but instead I'm up by two," she laughed and went into the kitchen.

"I should be going soon." Brennan grabbed her suitcase and walked toward the door.

"What about your toast, hun?"

"I'll just grab something on the way."

Anne came back into the living room and gave Brennan a tight hug. While she was holding her, she said in her ear, "You are _always _welcome in this family, Tempe. It's been a pleasure."

"Thank you for having me."

Anne released the hug. "I'll see you at the memorial?"

She nodded in return.

"Well, I'm glad."

"Bones, let me help you out." Booth reached for Brennan's suitcase and they headed out the door.

From the window, Anne could see Booth and Brennan saying their good-byes to one another. She shook her head, "My boys..." and smiled to herself, content in the fact that her sons were happy.

Booth put Brennan's suitcase in the Toyota and closed the door.

"I'll see you this evening, Bones."

She nodded. "OK. I'll see you later, Booth."

"Have a safe drive."

Neither moved. The conversation was being unconsciously drawn out by both. Going back to their real lives was an inevitability and facing certain truths was imminent. The moment she drove down the road was the moment life began. It was the moment that they would have to face careers, mysteries, murders, work, partnerships, bosses, and where their relationship would be headed eventually. Where ever that was. As exciting as it was, it was also nerve racking. That knowledge was passed between them in tacit looks andgentle touches.

He leaned close and kissed her. Their lips parted and they kissed for several seconds. "I love you, Bones."

"And... I love you. I should... get going."

She opened the door and began to get back inside, but he held her hand and pulled her back outside. If this was going to be the last kiss before she left, it was going to count. And he made it count.

Jared laughed and said to his mother, "You might get grandchildren outta Dr. Brennan after all."

Anne closed the curtains and turned to Jared, "You're lucky your brother hasn't shot you yet."

"O... K...." Brennan whispered between kisses and against his lips. Then she smiled, "Booth... stop..."

He kissed her neck and lips once again, then let her go. "Fine."

She got back inside of the Toyota. Before closing the door, she said, "I'll call you when I get in DC."

He smiled a sexy smile and put his hand on the door. "I'll be waiting." He closed the door and stood in the driveway, watching her pull out onto the main road and disappear around the corner.

_"Diamond ring, wear it on your hand_._ It's gonna tell the world that I'm your only man--"_

"Brennan," she answered, keeping her eyes on the road and making a mental note to change her ring tone back.

"I still love you."

She smiled to herself. She almost looked upset, but in truth she felt relieved. Despite all of the walls that have been built around her heart, making her seem like a woman of steel, unaffected by fear, love, and every other shade of emotion, she was still a woman. Still a human. And a part of her worried about the second her wheels hit the main road and she found herself 'disappearing' down the road, leaving behind a man who had just declared his love for her. And she saw every bad scenario that could occur out of that situation, every fear that could be relived and personified. That one call made all of the difference in the world. "I... I still love you, too."

* * *

_Thanks everyone! =) I didn't have Booth say he loved Brennan in return in the previous chapter b/c that would've been too sugary-sweet for that moment, but here's a little fluff for your patience. ;)  
_


	26. Chapter 26

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXVI  
**

Booth hung up his cell phone and walked into the house. A romantic smile painted his lips.

As soon as the door closed behind him, he noticed Jared grinning at him.

"What?" Booth said, his smile disappearing.

He shook his head and wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders. "I remember the day I knew I had no chance with your partner, Seeley."

Booth raised his brow at Jared. "When was that?"

"Oh, it was somewhere between the moment she _should have _split my lip and when she knocked me on my ass. Nothing spells love like, 'I care for your brother too much to bust your jaw.'"

"You know, you sound like you're joking, but you just described Bones to a T." Booth quickly wrapped his arm around Jared's neck, putting him into a head-lock. He gave him a quick 'noogie' (a la knuckle-to-head) before Jared twisted out of it and punched Booth in the arm.

The two men laughed at one another.

Anne rolled her eyes, "Don't be fooled, Tanya. They may look like men, but they'll always be boys. It's the short-coming that comes along with that Y chromosome of theirs."

Booth pointed at his mother seriously, "Watch it, old lady."

She pointed right back, used to her son's antics, "I brought you into this world and I will take you out, Seeley Booth."

He laughed and wrapped his arm around his mother's shoulders, then planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'm gonna go jump in the shower and we can head to the funeral home."

She smiled softly, "Alright."

Booth walked toward the bathroom door and about-faced at the door. "Love you, Mom." He disappeared behind the door, leaving Anne smiling softly to herself. She could never hear that phrase often enough.

"How about those pancakes, Tanya?"

"That would be nice, Anne. Thanks."

--

After a quick change at the apartment and a shower, Brennan found herself walking through the halls of the Jeffersonian toward the lab. She felt a little bit anxious and ill-prepared. She hadn't the slightest idea on how she would break this to Angela.

So, she did the most logical thing she could under the circumstances. She decided she would do nothing. And that made her even more anxious. Nothing was more frightening than going in without a plan. But somehow, it felt safer than going in with a _poor _plan.

She managed to slip past the forensic platform without notice and entered her office. She sat on her chair and simply breathed in and out slowly. It was nice to be home. No matter where she went in the world, Booth was right when he said that _this _was home. And it was nice to be back.

She smiled to herself with that little half-smile that had become so characteristic of herself and she started up her computer. Within seconds, she was face-to-face with the vaguely familiar 80s boy-band that Angela had called NKOTB--whatever that meant. She shook her head and checked her email.

She was answering the fifth email from a grad student who was begging for permission to be in her class when--

"Dr. Brennan."

She looked up to see Cam standing in the doorway in a dark skirt and low-cut green top. "Cam, how was your break?"

She smiled a smile that dimpled her right cheek and walked over to the desk. "Depends. On one hand, I was waited on the by the world's hottest Cabana boy in the Bahamas, on the other hand... Felicia." She shook her head and laughed. "How was your vacation?"

"Well, it definitely didn't go as planned, but it was... relaxing." The half-hidden smile Brennan gave with that last word made Cam's brows press together with curiosity.

"I didn't know Mayan mummies could be so relaxing."

"I... didn't go to Belize. As a matter of fact--" Brennan found herself on a roller coaster of truth-telling and she couldn't get off for the life of her. "I... I was in Philadelphia w--"

"Sweetie!" Angela ran across the room--actually, the optimum word here would be _trot_, considering the three-inch heels she wore. "Why didn't you tell me you were here?"

"I was about to. I thought it would be more prudent if I responded to student emails before--"

"Blah, blah, blah, Bren. I'm just glad we're all back!" She hugged her tight. "Call me nuts, sweetie, but I was beginning to miss all of the rigor mortis and formaldehyde."

"I second that," Cam said. "Although, had the break been any longer, either my sister or the newlyweds next door to my room would've satisfied my thirst for death."

"That was dark, sweetie," Angela said, wide-eyed. "You should probably have a chat with Sweets."

"Yeah... Let's just say, it's _good _to be back!" The women laughed light-heartedly before Cam asked Brennan, "Do you think Booth will bring us a case?"

Brennan looked up sharply. She had been tuning everything out, "Booth? Huh?"

Cam made the same face she made previously. Angela laughed, "She asked about Booth. If he's bringing by any stiffs."

"Um... I-I suppose so... After all, that's what we do... what _he _does. And me. We--_Us_. _Well_, I'm going to Limbo for the time being. If Booth asks where I am, tell him I'll be there." She spun around. "Not--Not that he'll be looking specifically for _me_. But just in case he wants to go out--_for field work--_because we're partners." Then she made her exit as swiftly as possible, knowing there would be strange reactions or possibly even questions due to the terrible delivery of those lines. She chastised herself all the way down to Limbo. At least this time she didn't yell while lying... she just stumbled. "..._Terrible liar_," she whispered to herself.

"Wow," Cam said, watching Brennan disappear.

"Yeah. Good thing we're back to crime-fighting, huh? Bren's brains were turning into mush. I'll be in my office." Angela walked out of the room, leaving Cam feeling a little stunned.

Cam stood in the silent office for several seconds before shaking her head and walking out.

--

Hours later, Booth walked through the doors of the Jeffersonian and went straight for Brennan's office.

He looked around. Nothing.

"She's in Limbo."

Booth spun around to come face-to-face with Cam. She stood, arms folded, cocky grin on her face.

"Uh, Bones?"

"Of course. Who else would I speaking of?"

The look on Cam's face spelled danger for Booth. And he didn't like it. "I'll... Uh. I'm going now."

Angela walked in at that moment, running straight into Booth's chest. "Where's the fire, Sparky?"

Angela stayed pressed up against Booth's chest for a second longer than was comfortable. Booth put his arms on her shoulders and pushed her away gently. "I'm going to find Bones. If you'll excuse me, ladies..." He side-stepped Angela and passed on Cam's left only to see Brennan standing behind all of them. "Bones."

Brennan's eyes darted between Cam and Angela. "Booth. Uh... h-how was your vacation?"

Angela snorted. All eyes went over to her. "What? Well, it's obvious how _his _vacation was. Left two days early, came back with a black eye. He's dating a contortionist... with a _whip_!"

Booth shook his head, "Ha ha, Angela. It was great, Bones. _Really_... really great."

Brennan tried to hide a smile. She tipped her head towards the ground and scratched her nose. "Well, that's good."

"How about you, Bones? How was Belize?"

Brennan looked between the two on-lookers before replying, "Good. My anthropological dig in Belize was quite informative and relaxing." She sounded like a robot, which earned her not only that same look from Cam, but now Angela gave her a look, too.

"Good," Booth replied.

"Good," Brennan agreed.

"Excuse me for cutting into this highly fascinating conversation, guys. So, Booth," Angela said. "A couple of questions for you. What happened to the eye and where's the belt buckle?"

Booth's lips tightened into thin line. "If you must know, a very attractive woman pushed me off a bed. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"It was--" Eyes went to Brennan. "I'm sure it was an accident."

"And as for the buckle, apparently I'm not so cocky any more. End of discussion. Bones, can I talk to you in your office?"

"Of course. I'm sure it has something to do with a case and_ nothing else_."

Booth's brow scrunched. Hiding this thing was obviously not going to be as easy as he had thought, especially once Brennan was factored into the equation. He grabbed her arm and began to pull her toward the office. Cam and Angela followed on their heels.

Booth spun around at the door. "Just us," he said, then closed the door in their faces.

Simultaneously, the women rolled their eyes and said:

--"They're sleeping together."

--"They're sleeping together."

Angela and Cam smiled widely at one another. Then, Angela put her hand in the air, "Great minds, babe."

Cam hi-fived her, then they walked in the opposite direction of the door. "Lunch?" Cam asked.

"I'm feeling Thai today. You?"

"Soup and salad."

--"Thai salad!"

--"Thai salad!"

--

Booth watched as the women walked out of sight. Then he turned to Brennan and grinned, backing her against the wall and kissing her deeply, hungrily. He slid his hands around her waist and grabbed her butt firmly with his strong hands.

"Booth," Brennan whispered sharply at him, slapping his chest, despite the fact that she had fully participated in that saliva-swap."What did you want to talk about?"

"Mostly I wanted to ask you over tonight. Eight? Plus I missed you."

She tipped her head. "It's been eight hours. That's not rational."

"Not rational, yes. But it's the truth, Bones." Then he drew in a deep breath. "And we've got a body in a sewer. Definitely a day to wear protection." His brow tipped in the air.

They began to walk toward the door. Brennan turned around with a glint in her eye, "Then you should make a run to the pharmacy."

* * *

_Wow. Thank you for all of the great compliments! It's awesome to know that so many are enjoying this story!_

_There is more to look forward to.  
_


	27. Chapter 27

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXVII  
**

He kissed her fingers, then her lips, then her breasts down to her navel. She put her hands on either side of his face and brought him back above the covers and kissed him softly.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips.

She smiled before answering, "I love you, too. We should get ready."

He rolled onto his back and put his arm over his head. "I don't want to."

She sat up and pulled a robe over her shoulders then said, "Well, we need to."

He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her back in bed. He slowly untied the belt of her robe, then opened it up to reveal her nude body. Here and there he dropped kisses.

She laughed. "Booth, knock it off."

He kissed her lips, then rested his weight on his elbows on either side of her head and smoothed her hair behind her ears with his right hand. "I'm going to talk to Cullen and Cam today before we leave for the memorial. That'll give it time to blow over a bit while we're gone."

A visible barrier went up. "OK," she replied shortly.

"You're worried." He sighed.

Her eyes faltered to his chest--a very nice sight, by the way. "Yes." She looked up to his dark eyes before continuing, "I thought I would have been able to compartmentalize my feelings--the anxiety... fear. I'm afraid that he'll reassign you. He has all of the right in the world. After all, we're going against policy by pursuing our relationship. Would it sound silly if I admitted that I don't want things to change?"

"No." He shook his head. "We'll talk about this later, Bones." He kissed her. "Until then..." He kissed her deeply and for a moment, all fear was forgotten. Even his own fear. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled the sheet over their heads.

The door bell rang.

Booth groaned against the disturbance, ignored it and continued to try to make love to his beautiful partner. The operative word: TRY.

"Booth... I can't... can't concentrate like this."

Whoever was at the door was quite resolute.

"Fine..." Booth rolled away and put his feet to the floor. "I'll get it."

He walked through Brennan's apartment without a stitch on his finely-etched body. I know you like that image, don't you? So do I.

He looked through the peephole.

His eyes widened.

"Angela," he whispered and began to walk backwards quietly away from the door.

Safe!

Then the door handle began to chink and jiggle. His eyes grew wider and he began to whirl around and look for a hiding spot. He hadn't thought through the whole nudity thing. And how the heck was he supposed to know that Angela Montenegro had a key?!

The door swung open with Angela behind it, her head down, putting the key into her purse. Then she looked up. And grinned. She grinned a grin that have light up the Dodger's Stadium. Hell, it could've lit up Los Angeles.

She shook her head. Glanced down. Then said, "Good to see you, too, Booth." Booth grabbed a nearby coat and put it over his front. "Aw, you don't have to be shy around me. Where's Bren?"

He smiled nervously. "Uh... bedroom."

"OK," she said, shrugging and walking past him.

Booth had no idea what had just happened. "Uh, Ange, why exactly are you here?"

"I'll just be a minute, Stud, then you and Brennan can get back to being _just partners_." She walked into the living room. Booth followed her, coat still covering the most sensitive parts of his body, into the living room where Angela was looking around aimlessly.

"_Why_?" Booth prompted, sounding a little annoyed.

"Huh?" Angela looked up.

"Why are you here?"

"Uh... Oh, _look_! There it is!" Angela spotted basically the first thing in her line of vision--a clear glass paper weight in the shape of a heart that was on the coffee table. "I've been looking for that. My papers have been so _unweighted_ lately." She smiled triumphantly and walked past Booth. "Tell Bren I said hi." She waggled her brows and walked past him. She closed the door behind her, leaving Booth more than a little shocked.

He stared at the door for a few seconds, then shook his head and muttered, "What... just happened here?" as he walked down the hallway.

He met Brennan in the hallway.

"Who was it?" She asked.

"Angela. Did you know she had a key?"

"Yes--" Her eyes widened. "Did she see you like that? What were you thinking, Booth? Why didn't you put your clothes on before answering the door?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"You didn't mind me walking around naked last night."

"Last night you didn't answer the door. You know what I think? I think that subconsciously you were trying to reveal our relationship. That's why you neglected to put clothing on before answering the door!"

"You don't even believe in that. You know you're just being ridiculous, don't you? Can't you hear yourself? How would I know that Angela was behind the door with a key in her hand, huh?"

"Ugh..." She put her hand to her head. "You're right. I'm sorry..."

"Look," He rubbed her shoulders softly and pulled her into a hug. "It's going to be alright. I said that, right? Now, we'll grab some breakfast and go talk to Cam before Angela does."

--

They walked through the halls of the Jeffersonian and were approaching the Medico Legal lab quickly. Maybe a little too quickly for Brennan's taste. She was never nervous--almost never, and she found herself almost cold with fear and anxiety as they came up to the lab.

She grabbed Booth's arm. He stopped.

"Booth. Do--Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, what do you think Cam will say? After all, you two broke up because you were coworkers. What does our relationship say to her? Do you think she'll be hurt?"

He shook his head, glanced back at the double doors, then back at Brennan. He slid his hand down and grasped her hand firmly. He breathed in and out audibly. "We didn't break up because of Epps."

"What?"

"It had been coming for a few weeks prior to Epps and he just happened to provide the out we both wanted and needed. We used it as an excuse. We both know it and we've talked about it since." He shrugged. "It was getting weird anyway."

"Weird? How so?" She eyed him with curiosity.

Booth put his hands in his pockets. "It just felt wrong. Like we were messing around--skulking. I felt like-- Never mind." He put his hands in his pockets and took several steps.

Brennan remained planted firmly where she stood. "Wait. What were you going to say, Booth?"

He spun around smoothly on his heel. Then he walked toward her slowly. "It felt like I was cheating, Bones. On you. I know what you're going to say and no, it wasn't rational. You're just-- the closest thing I've had to a--a relationship, a marriage, a-- Not that we're married obviously, but what we have is unique. It makes having relationships with any other women impossible. And--I'm glad. Because when I was dating everyone else--I thought about you. I thought about you way too often." He ran a hand through his hair before looking up to gauge her reaction. "Did that freak you out?"

She was silent for a second before saying, "No. In truth, I thought of you quite often, myself. It wasn't unusual for me to fantasize about you while I was in bed with another man."

Booth's brows rose about ten stories. "Really?"

"Yes. Why would I lie about that?"

He laughed and leaned close to kiss her. "You ready for this?"

"I suppose I have to be."

They walked the rest of the way side-by-side. Angela and Hodgins looked up from their work to see them walk through. From the look on Hodgins' face, he was already in on the secret. Brennan looked up and saw Angela grinning and giving her a double-thumbs-up signal.

Booth stopped and turned to look at them. "You guys should probably tag along for this."

And they did--_quite _readily.

Hodgins chuckled as they walked behind Brennan and Booth. "Telling Cam you've been banging the boss lady?"

Booth spun around, one hand on his hip, the other he gestured with, "I won't hesitate to take you out, Hodgins."

"Dude, you've threatened me on at least a hundred occasions and yet I continue to exist."

"You're right," Booth agreed coolly before pulling back his fist.

"Booth!"

Booth grinned, "Nah, I'm just screwing with him. Listen, guys, seriously. I'm not in the mood right now. After Cam we're talking to Cullen."

Angela sucked air through her teeth, "Ooh."

"Yeah, 'ooh'," Booth agreed. "So I'd love it if you two could keep your thoughts to yourselves. Alright?"

"Anything you need, man. It's just good to see you two happy." Hodgins looked at Brennan, "I haven't seen you happier than in the last week."

"Thank you," Brennan said. And the thanks shone in her eyes with those words.

Booth smiled slightly and they walked the last few yards to Cam's office.

She was sitting at her desk filling out an ME report when she sensed motion in the doorway. She looked up and smiled. "What's going on?"

"Think we can come in, Cam?" Booth asked.

"Of course." She stood up and rounded her desk, then sat on the edge, arms folded over her chest. "What can I do for you?"

Brennan cleared her throat, "We have something to tell you."

She looked at the group. "_All _of you?"

"No. Just Booth and I. You see-- Booth and I are in a relationship--a _romantic _relationship."

Cam seemed somewhat unsurprised by the news. "Is that it?"

"Aren't you shocked or dismayed?" Brennan asked.

"I may have been... if this was two years ago and I knew nothing about the two of you, but neither of those two things are true."

Booth grinned and chuckled. "Cam, you're amazing."

She smiled, "I know. So, is that everything?"

Brennan looked at Booth before answering, "Yes, that's everything."

That hesitation before answering caused Booth to wonder if that truly _was _everything. "Well, Bones and I are leaving for my dad's funeral this afternoon. After we talk to Cullen. Let's just hope he doesn't reassign me."

"Oh," Cam breathed. "I didn't even think about that. Is that why you two...?"

"Why we've put this off for so long? Yeah," Booth sighed. "Partially."

Cam nodded. "I hope he doesn't reassign you, either, Seeley. You and Brennan are an integral part of the team. I'd hate to lose you. I've always thought of the six of us as a team. A family. All of us. It just wouldn't be the same."

Booth smiled. "Thanks, Cam."

"Well, congrats to you two. You should probably get going."

"Get going where?" All eyes drifted to a tall young man in the doorway.

Booth and Brennan sighed. Somehow, in the hubbub of it all, they'd forgotten about a certain psychologist--Lance Sweets.

"Uh... Brennan and I have a meeting with Cullen in the next hour."

"What for? Got another case?"

"Sweets, it's not that."

"Oh. Another secret RICO case?"

"No. Listen, maybe we'll talk another time--" Booth glanced at his watch.

"Oh, Jeez," Angela rolled her eyes. "Booth and Brennan are sleeping together. Doing the horizontal hula. You know--_partner _stuff."

"Angela," Brennan hissed.

"What? He's gotta find out sometime!"

"What? Wait! You two are together now? Why am I always the last one to find out about these things?"

Booth groaned, "Listen, Sweets," he slapped him on the back reassuringly. "We'll invite you to the wedding."

"There won't be a wedding," Brennan cut in.

"Right," Booth agreed. "There won't be a wedding."

"Why won't there be?" Sweets asked.

"Bones doesn't believe--"

"Marriage is an outdated antiquated ritual. I don't need a piece of paper to prove my commitment to Booth."

"Don't you believe that after death, your descendants will be able to see that you _did _prove your commitment to Booth and that you made that commitment known to the world in all ways that _count_--physical, emotional, spiritual, legal? That you won't be two separate entities, but partners in life _and _in death?"

Brennan didn't say anything. Sweets was making way too much sense for his own good. "I... think we should go."

"Right. Let's go. Excuse us." The two walked out of sight, leaving the four watching them.

"I feel so forgotten and used," Sweets whined.

"Buck up, Sweets. If I sleep with anyone, you'll be the first I text." Hodgins laughed and walked out of the office.

"It's about damn time," Cam said.

Angela kissed Sweets on the cheek, "We love you, Sweets." She walked out of the office, too.

Sweets grinned, then looked at Cam. "What do we do now?"

Cam blinked a few times. "Get out of my office, Dr. Sweets."

"Aye-aye." He spun and walked straight into Booth's chest.

"You're coming with us," he said, putting an arm on Sweets' shoulder and directing him down the hall alongside he and Brennan.

When they were in the elevator riding up to Cullen's office, Sweets finally said, "So, why am I here?"

"You're here to give your professional opinion, Sweets."

"My professional opinion on what?"

Booth groaned, "OK, you're going to be the human shield for me and Brennan when Cullen gets really pissed at me." After a second more, Booth reached down for Brennan's hand and squeezed it. "It's going to be OK. This is just life. It's something we have to do if we want to pursue our relationship. It's unavoidable."

"I know, Booth."

"I know... I'm just trying to convince myself."

"It's going to be OK."

He smiled. "I love you, Bones."

"And I love you."

"Woah!" Sweets cut in. "You guys are in love? I mean, I knew you two were in love, but I guess I didn't think you'd admit it to anyone. I guess I thought it was about sex--You two _do _have sex, right? Wait, Dr. Brennan, I thought you didn't believe in love?"

"Things change, Sweets," Booth said. "Just like I don't think you're an annoying twelve year old any more."

Sweets postured. "Thanks."

The elevator doors opened. "Sixteen, Sweets. At least sixteen. After you." He pushed Sweets out the door.

"Booth," Brennan whispered. "Don't hurt his feelings."

Outside of Cullen's door, Booth stopped, feeling nervous and a little nauseous. "This is for us."

Brennan put her hand in his. "For us."

Sweets grinned. His grin grew even wider when they kissed.

Then, Booth knocked on the door, releasing Brennan's hand.

"Come in."

The three entered the office.

"What do you want, Booth?"

"Uh, Sir, Dr. Brennan and I have something to say." Booth figured that diving into it might be a little less painful, "Section 3 Paragraph 16 of the FBI regulations handbook suggests against being involved in a romantic relationship with your partner. I'm fully aware of that, Sir, and I've always abode by the rules and regulations of the Bureau without question. However--"

"Agent Booth."

"Sir?"

Cullen let the silence stretch between them for at least a mile. He leaned back in his chair and studied the group in front of him before speaking. "I'm going to clarify something for you. There are no _suggestions _in the handbook. There are _rules_. Rules that are made to _not _be broken. If you're going to say what I think you're going to say, Agent Booth, then I'm inclined to ask why the _hell _can you recite the rules and regulations so damn well yet still persist on breaking them?"

"Sir, I know that you have every right to reassign me and remove my posting as the liaison to the Jeffersonian, but--"

"Booth, you're _damned right_ I have the right to reassign you, but I also have the right to fire your ass. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir--"

"Sir," Brennan said. "You don't have to do this. I'm just as guilty as Booth is--"

"Dr. Brennan, you've always been a thorn in my ass. Why don't you just zip it, huh?"

Brennan held back the biting comment that was on the tip of her tongue and held silent.

Cullen got up from his desk, rounded it, and sat on the edge of it. His eyes slid between the partners, then sharply to the left. "Why the _Sam Hell_ is Sweets here?"

"Sir, I'm here to offer my professional opinion on the working relationship of Booth and Brennan if it's needed."

"Well," Cullen growled. Apparently he hadn't had a very good day and this was just one more hassle. "What's your opinion? Do you think I'm going to give these two special treatment? I've got hundreds of agents in the field as we speak. Don't think for a _goddamn second_, Booth, that you aren't replaceable. Nothing pisses me off more than people who think they're above the law. I suppose you rode the elevator all this way, Dr. Sweets. Don't wanna waste your precious time. _Speak_," he commanded.

"Uh... Sir," Sweets said. "I've observed these two for going on three years now. I admit that from the beginning, I saw a romantic spark between the two of them. And I asked them about it and they were adamant that they were just partners and so I let it go," Booth sniffed at this comment. "Anyway, I could tell from the beginning that they cared deeply for one another. I saw their relationship deepen. From respect to friendship and now to a profound love. And it's my professional opinion that... that they've been in love for a number of years now." Brennan's eyes widened. "Their professional relationship has never suffered, sir. They've continued to bring in as many suspects as there were cases handed to them. They've always maintained a closure average above that of the typical partnership, which goes to illustrate that their love for one another hasn't gotten in the way of their professional interactions. Knowing them has only let me _begin _to understand the commitment they have to their careers, the people, the cases, the _justice _they work for. I can guarantee that they can continue to work for you without their success in the field being effected adversely."

Brennan and Booth both looked towards Sweets and gave him looks of tacit thanks.

Cullen once again let the disquietude build between them. Then he nodded and looked up again. "Are you in love?"

"Yes, sir," Booth replied.

Cullen scratched his neck, "You're damned lucky, Agent Booth. I had half a mind to throw your ass out with ten minutes to pack your desk up. Instead, I'm going to think about it."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Shut the hell up. Don't for a _damned second_ get comfortable, Booth. Your job is still on the line. I won't hesitate to throw you out on the street. I'm not as gracious as they make me out to be. Don't you forget it. Between now and when I call you back into this office, I want to _know _that you're not sleeping at night. I want to _know _that you haven't eaten a damned thing. It will be my pleasure to inflict this pain and anxiety on you. And do you know why?"

"No, Sir."

"Because I like the taste of blood. I like to know that you will be thinking of how you've put my balls in a goddamn vice and how f-cking mad I am about it." He pushed off from the desk. "Like I said, I hate it when people have a blatant _disregard _for the statutes of this institution. Sleep with one eye open, Agent Booth and start looking into a new job. You're excused."

The three exited quickly and closed the door behind them.

Outside, Booth patted Sweets' shoulder. "Thank you."

"Hey, I meant every word." Sweets shrugged.

"Thank you, Sweets," Brennan said.

"How about we take you out to coffee before we head out of town?"

Sweets grinned. "I'd like that."

Booth put his arm around Sweets' shoulder. "Eighteen," he declared as Brennan linked arms with Sweets.

* * *

_A nice long chapter for your enjoyment! I hope all of your weekends went well! I want to thank all of the reviewers and all of the new reviewers! I'm blown away and so thankful! :D  
_


	28. Chapter 28

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXVIII**

A man in his sixties met them at the door of the funeral home and handed a flier to them. The flier was decorated with a picture of Mike in his twenties and in full dress uniform. Crew cut, clean shaven, a flag flying in the background. And he looked surprisingly like his eldest son.

Brennan eyed it and took it from Booth's hand as they sat down at the service. While she read through Mike's biography, Booth scanned the crowd for family and friends. He spotted his mother, brother, Tanya, and Bob sitting at the front of the room. He hadn't officially met Bob, but from his mother's descriptions, it was he who sat beside his mother. Beside his mother was an older woman with short, curly silver hair. That would be his Aunt Beatrice, he reasoned.

"Booth," Brennan whispered, taking him from his thoughts. He looked over at her. She pointed to the flier. "Your father was a twin?"

"Yeah, Bones."

"He has a fascinating life story. Graduated from high school at sixteen. He must have been quite intelligent. He fought in Vietnam and again in the Korean War. Fathered two sons--" She trailed off as she began to study the face of the man in the photograph. So much like Booth--

Booth had a feeling he knew what she was thinking. He reached over and squeezed her hand, then leaned close and kissed her forehead. "I'm not like him, Bones."

She looked into his eyes and held his gaze until a commotion to the right of the room took their attention from one another.

In low, serious--almost angry--tones, the older man who had been handing out the pamphlets was speaking with another man, also in his sixties.

"Frank, you can't put aside your damn feelings for one minute to read a Hallmark poem for the man?" the man who had handed out the pamphlets asked.

"I was rounded into this thing. I never agreed to it and I never would have. You can read the poem yourself. It doesn't apply to my brother and it never would. Did you read the goddamn thing?"

"You're his brother."

"So are you."

"You're his _twin _brother. That's gotta mean something. For all his faults, Mike asked for you. The man's dead, Frank. Put it aside for twenty minutes!"

"No. You know what? You're wrong. I'm _not _his brother. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go sit by Mary."

The man grabbed Frank's arm. "Mary can wait."

Frank shrugged out of his brother's grasp. "Don't touch me."

Booth leaned close and whispered, "Excuse me, Bones."

Brennan watched as he rose from his seat and walked over to the man who had handed him the pamphlet. They talked quietly for several minutes before Booth walked to the front of the room with his uncle.

His uncle took the microphone and spoke, "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Oliver Booth, my brother was Michael. I'd like to thank everyone for coming out here today to remember him. And this fine young man," Oliver squeezed Booth's shoulder. "Is my nephew. I saw him and his wife come in today. If ever there was a fine example of the kind of Booth men that can come out of this family, it's Seeley here. He wanted to say a few words about his father. Seeley?"

Booth gave him a side hug and whispered, "Thanks, Uncle Ollie."

"Love you, son." Ollie walked off and sat beside his wife in the front row.

Brennan's eyes fell to the ground and in that second before they rose again, she realized something. Booth _was _a fine man. And she didn't even feel her cheeks light up when Oliver introduced her as Booth's wife. Even when several faces turned toward her and smiled congenially in her direction.

"My, um..." He could hear his voice echoing back to him and the room seemed oppressively silent with only the occasional cough and baby crying. "I remember this time. I must have only been seven or eight and my Dad took me and my brother Jared fishing. It was our first time fishing together. Jared was four or so years old. We'd been fishing all day and I remember I caught a fish. Not a big one. Twelve, thirteen inches," Booth indicated with his fingers, then put one hand back into his pocket. "But Jared..." He chuckled at the memory. "Jared wasn't so lucky. I think in the six hours we sat on that boat, Jared caught a plastic bag. He started crying. Then, uh... Dad showed Jared how to hook his worm on the hook and he told him to throw it back in. Said it was a magic worm. When he wasn't looking, he winked at me. He put his finger to his lips, 'Shhh,' and he hooked his own fish on Jared's line. The thing was massive. He, um..." Booth ran his hand through his hair. He looked up and saw Brennan's face. She was stoic, supportive, loving. His mother's eyes were full of tears. Aunt Beatrice was rubbing her sister's shoulders. Anne held Jared's hand. "People aren't perfect. But... I have no doubts that even the worst people in the world have the ability to love and... be loved. My father wasn't the best guy in the world. Maybe I had a handful of bad memories about him... but I know that I have quite a few good memories. I'd like to think that everyone in this room has at least one good memory my Dad."

The room was silent... some were stunned. Some were just plain proud of Seeley. It wasn't a secret that Michael Booth abused his family and drank like a camel. And so, it wasn't a secret that it took an immeasurable amount of strength for Booth to speak those words.

Jared stood up and walked to the front of the room. They exchanged silent words of respect and love before handing off the microphone.

"I remember this time..." Jared began.

Brennan didn't hear the rest of the words. She stood up, walked up the side aisle and held Booth closely. "I'm proud of you," Brennan said.

Booth grinned at the irony. How many times had he told her that he was proud of _her _for putting her heart into drive? And here she was, telling him that she was proud of _him _for shifting gears.

Afterward, family of the Booth family gathered at Anne's house for a potluck.

Anne wound through the crowd and walked up to Booth. She kissed his cheek, "Thank you, sweetheart."

Booth shrugged. "Eh. I'd do anything for you, Mom."

Her wrinkles deepened at her eyes as she smiled softly. "How'd I get so lucky? I've got good sons."

Booth smiled a serious half grin. "It probably has something to do with having such a good _mother_."

Anne smiled. As a man passed by, she pulled him into the conversation. "Seeley, this is Bob. Robert Mason, this is my oldest son. You've heard me talk about him."

Robert was about as tall as Booth was. His hair was still black, but a salt-and-pepper mustache trimmed his nose. He shook hands with Booth firmly. "Seeley. Good to meet you, son. Anne's told me so much about you."

Booth smiled. "Bob. From what I've heard, you like pie." Booth raised a brow. "What kind?"

Bob chuckled, his hand still being firmly gripped by Booth's, "There's only one kind, Seeley. Apple. It's mother's milk. Everything else is a waste of my culinary time and patience."

Booth laughed. "Mom, you've got a good one here."

"Well," Anne said to Bob. "You've passed the pie test. Now you've got to try to pass the next test."

"And what's that?" Booth asked.

"Sex," Anne informed her son.

Booth's eyes widened.

"Just because I'm twenty-nine-and-holding doesn't mean I don't enjoy male company."

Brennan whispered to Booth, "I really like your mom."

Booth rolled his eyes.

Brennan felt a tug on her elbow and she turned around to meet a woman she hadn't met before. "I'm Irene. You must be Seeley's wife?"

"Uh--Tempe. Please call me Tempe." Brennan held out her hand which Irene put her hand in, clasped it with the other and pulled her into a hug.

"You must be awfully proud of Seeley. I know it took a lot for him to get the ball rolling."

"Yes, I am."

"Seeley's always been that way. Heart the size of the Atlantic. You're a lucky woman. Well, welcome to the family. Have I sent you two a wedding gift?"

"Uh, no. Please don't--"

"Not a problem. I'll just get the address from Seeley before you two leave."

Oliver came up beside his wife, "Don't let Irene chat your ear off, darlin'."

"Tempe, dear," Irene said to her husband.

"Temperance. It isn't every day you hear a name like that. Your parents had good taste."

Brennan shrugged. "Well, I suppose that's what happens when you have _two _chances to name your children."

"Pardon, dear?"

"Nothing," Brennan shook her head.

Booth came up beside Brennan and kissed her forehead. "Hey, Aunt Irene, Uncle Ollie. Have you met Tempe?"

Irene patted Booth's hand, "She's lovely, dear. I couldn't have picked a better wife for you. I always liked names like Temperance and Prudence--I always thought Pru would be a cute nickname, don't you? Anyway, Ollie thought they were too old-fashioned, but I say, therein lies the charm, right, dear?" Ollie nodded. "Long story short we had Oliver Jr. first, then Nancy Alice and then James Aaron and last but not least Susan Pearl who just turned the big three-oh this year. Can you believe it?"

"How about we get a drink, Irene?" Her husand plead.

"That sounds nice, dear." They walked out of sight.

Jared was the next to squeeze through the crowd and walk up to Booth and Brennan with Tanya by his side. "Can you believe this place? This party's hoppin'!"

"I... don't know what that means."

"I'm feeling nauseous. There's too many people in the room."

"We'll get some air in a sec, Tanya. Hey, big bro, the bathroom's clear if you need it."

"Die."

"Dark, Seeley. You've been hanging out with corpses way too long. Tanya and I'll be outside if you need us."

"Hey, Seeley," a young woman about Booth's age, mid-thirties, walked up to him holding a baby girl in a black and white dress. "Can you and your wife keep an eye on Audrey for a sec? I've gotta go pee and I'm starving and I can't find Andrew for the life of me."

Booth took the baby from the woman's hands. "Sure, Lisa."

"Who was that?" Brennan asked.

"My cousin Lisa. And this.... _this _is Audrey Jane." The infant began to cry and reach in the direction her mother just went. "Shhhh..." Booth grinned when he noticed that Brennan was looking at him. "Wanna give those magical breasts of yours a whirl, Bones?"

Brennan tilted her head to one side, "You completely twisted my words, Booth."

Booth grinned and held Audrey out. The tow-headed baby screeched. Brennan's eyes grew wide. "Booth--I don't think that's--"

"Just give it a shot, Bones. You'll be surprised. C'mon. You know you want to..."

The screeching grew louder. Finally, Brennan put her drink down and took Audrey into her arms. The crying did not stop, but it did grow to sad whine.

"Bounce her a bit, Bones."

Brennan rolled her eyes, tucked hair behind her ears, then she decided to take Booth's advice and began to bounce Audrey gently on her hip. Audrey's lip was still poking out, but the crying ceased. Her green eyes were still moist with tears. Brennan felt her heartstrings coming undone. She reached down and wiped the tears away, almost instinctively. The infant reached for Brennan's hand and tried to suck on her finger.

Brennan pulled it back, "That's not very sanitary," Brennan told the baby. The baby began to cry. "Did she come with one of those sucking things, Booth?"

Booth grinned, "A pacifier?"

"What's that?"

"A sucking thing, Bones." Booth found the pacifier attached to the baby's dress with a clip and he handed it to Brennan instead of sticking it in Audrey's mouth himself. Brennan hesitated, then put the pacifier in Audrey's mouth. The baby sucked on it hungrily. Brennan smiled to herself, feeling proud. "She's fine, Booth. She isn't crying."

Booth couldn't help but to take that moment and drink in the picture of Brennan, his _girlfriend_, holding a baby and smiling on her contentedly.

Audrey's eyes began to droop with the bouncing motion Brennan was providing. She leaned her blond little head against Brennan's shoulder and began to twist her hair in her fingers.

"Is she asleep?" Brennan asked, too afraid to look down and disturb her. "Booth?"

Booth blinked. "Uh... yeah, Bones." He smiled softly and pulled Brennan close. He kissed her forehead, then kissed Audrey's head, just above her ear. Maybe he was--for a _moment_--playing house. But maybe it was worth the fantasy to have that memory stowed away forever when he began to want children and _she _began to tell him to jump off a cliff.

In that second, Brennan began to feel a little confused. "Uh... Booth, I need to go to the restroom."

Booth released the hug and gently took Audrey into his strong arms. The little girl rested her head on Booth's shoulder and sucked at her pacifier, her eyes once again fluttering closed.

Brennan walked through the crowd. At the bathroom door, she turned the handle, but it was locked. She rested her back against the wall. From there, she had a perfect view of Booth holding Audrey. He was kissing her head and rubbing her little back. He was so instinctively good at dealing with children. He would make a perfect mate, technically speaking. If she were to ever change her mind concerning childbearing (_which _she had _not_, she told herself) then Booth would make the perfect reproductive counterpart. But more than that... he would make a perfect partner.

"Is she yours?"

Brennan looked to her right. "Excuse me?" She asked the shorter blond woman who had appeared suddenly beside her.

"The baby Seeley's holding."

"Uh... No. She belongs to B--Seeley's cousin Lisa."

"Oh. 'Scuse me. You just seemed so natural, you three together. Didn't mean to pry. I'm Jennifer."

"Tempe." Brennan held out her hand.

"I wasn't aware Seeley was married, but it's all over this place like wildfire. I'm glad I ran into you, otherwise I'd have to have hunted you down, girl."

Brennan smiled weakly. "Yes." The bathroom door opened. "Well, it was good to meet you, Jennifer."

Inside the bathroom, Brennan got a chance to find solace. Unfortunately, upon opening her eyes, she realized she hadn't run too far from Booth--or memories of him. Memories of the first time they made love. Hot monkey sex, Angela would've called it, right there in that very bathroom.

* * *

_Thanks for the reviews everyone!_

_LOL at the "your characterization of Cullen is the most bitchy I've ever seen"--hahaha... Yeah, I don't think that breaking FBI Rules & Regs gets just a slap on a wrist and a few harsh words. Oh, I have a gloriously fluffy chapter in mind for the next one... stay tuned! We're moving at the end of the week (Saturday) so I'll try to finish up this week. We'll see. :D  
_


	29. Chapter 29

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXIX**

"Where are we going?" He asked as they walked through the forest towards the river. "Bones, I'm really not in a swimming mood right now."

"It's a surprise," she remarked as she looked down at her GPS. She turned through the trees and began to walk along the path that wove through the underbrush.

Booth smiled and just followed Brennan. It wasn't very often that she was able to surprise him. So he kept silent and decided to not start guessing as a child guesses what's in his Christmas presents. About a minute before they reached their destination, Booth realized where they were going. "Bones, did Jared do this?"

She ducked beneath a low branch and turned around. "He gave me the GPS coordinates, cleaned up a bit and some other things so I could surprise you."

He shook his head and ducked under the branch. A few more feet and a small fort came into view. It looked almost exactly the same as when he had seen it last three years before when he last saw the place.

They went inside. It was very low--the ceiling must have only been five feet off the ground. The walls were sturdy and made of two-by-fours. It was obvious that Little Booth and Little Jared had worked quite hard on it as children and had come back to work on it as adults.

In the corner of the room was a brown paper sack of groceries, a large sleeping bag, pillows, and a mattress pad.

"Bones..."

"I thought this would be a good surprise for you. You are always surprising me. I thought it was about time I should return the favor."

He stepped forward and hugged her, then kissed her lips. "Thanks, Bones."

"You're welcome." She cleared her throat. "So, tell why you said that the fort was gone?"

He sighed and rubbed her shoulders. "I... didn't intend on coming back, Bones. Simple as that."

Brennan turned and picked up the paper bag. "Jared suggested that he should pick up the ingredients for _some more_. He said they were classic."

"Some more what, Bones?"

Brennan's eyes glittered at the fact that she knew something Booth did not. "Some more. Two pieces of graham cracker, chocolate, and a marshmallow."

Booth grinned and his mouth opened slightly so he could correct her, but the way she was smiling at him, he decided not to correct her. "_Some more_ sounds great, Bones."

Not long after, they were laying on their stomachs in the sleeping bag with the marshmallows being held over a Bunsen burner.

"Uh... Bones, is it OK if I ask you something?"

She turned her face toward him and smiled radiantly. "Of course, Booth."

Booth put down the marshmallow on a paper plate and turned toward her. His face said he had something important to say and Brennan read that signal loud and clear. She sat down her marshmallow and looked at him. Their faces were illuminated with the low glow of a battery-powered lantern. "Earlier..." Brennan looked away. She had hoped that he hadn't noticed her change in mood. She rested her cheek on her fist and looked at him again. "I should have let everyone know that you weren't my wife, Bones. I'm sorry if that bothered you. I guess I liked it."

She didn't say anything for a bit. Then she said, "You liked having that ownership over me?"

"_No_. No, Bones. It's not like that."

"Well, sure it is. For four years, we've been flirting and spending time with one another with no greater intentions between us --and knowing _you _of course you would like owning me in some way."

"Bones--No!" He grimaced. "The only reason I liked people thinking that you were my wife is because--Well, number one is that I love you. And I liked knowing that I--that _we _had that connection. Even if it was fictional."

"Is that why you liked it when I held Audrey?" Now she almost looked panic-stricken.

"Bones, just stop talking and take a breath. The reason that I liked all of that is because even if it was just for a moment... I wanted to remember that. Look... I happen to think that what we have here is forever. I'd hate to think that we'll--and don't get me wrong because I really truly love you-- I'd hate to think that we'll be dating when we're sixty and nothing's changed. You said yourself that nothing stays stagnant. I know this might be early and it'll probably scare the _hell _out of you, but I know that after a while, Bones, I'm _going _to ask you to marry me. And I'll want to know what our children will look like." Booth could feel his heart pounding in his chest wildly. "_Because _I love you. _Because _I know that you're my other half, Bones. There's someone for everyone and that someone for _me _is _you_. And so call me crazy for wanting that picture of you and Audrey together or that picture of you standing by my side as my wife, but I know that _when _that time comes you'll tell me no. And I'm OK with that. I've been OK with it for a while. I'd do anything to be with you."

"Booth--" She said in weak protest.

"I just want you to do me a favor, Bones. I want you to promise me that you'll at least consider it. When the time comes and I feel I can't live without those things and I ask, you won't just blow me off. You'll consider it. _Because _you love me."

She didn't say anything for a while. Booth watched her blue eyes, specked with the yellow glow of the lantern, just watching him, hardly blinking. "I..." She breathed in deeply. "Liked it, too."

A small smile grew from the corner of his lips until it crimped his eyes. "Liked what, Bones?"

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Booth," she scolded him. "When they introduced me as your wife, I didn't feel ashamed or... embarrassed. The only logical conclusion I could draw is that I liked it when your family thought I was your wife. I felt like I belonged." She laughed, feeling a little ridiculous as those words echoed back to her. She put her head in her hand and then looked over at him. "Don't tell Angela."

He leaned over her and kissed her tenderly. Then rested his head against hers. "She'll have to find out eventually... you know... when you're wearing a diamond ring and you're nine months pregnant. Something tells me she'll catch on."

She laughed. "I told you I would _consider _it."

He kissed her neck. "Would you consider taking your clothes off?"

While he was nibbling, biting, and kissing, she did consider it. Then she said, "I don't know. I've got a head ache, my feet hurt, and I'm menstruating."

Booth pulled back and looked at her, "Did you just make a joke, Bones?"

"Well, if you want me to consider marriage, I ought to start practicing the lingo."

"Funny, Bones... Heh. Funny bones, Funny Bones. See, Bones? I can make jokes, too!" He grinned widely.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him off. "Good night." She rolled over to her side.

Booth pulled on her shoulder so she was laying on her back and began to kiss her deeply. It was the kind of kiss that brings our good friends Serotonin and Endorphins out of hibernation. He could feel her tongue probing deeply into his, exploring his mouth and softly twisting with his own tongue.

He was gone.

She was gone.

And so were their clothes within a matter of seconds.

"You know what, Bones?" He asked as kissed farther and farther down on her body. "We should stop wearing pajamas."

She put her hands on his head and pulled him back, "It's a waste of time," she agreed.

He kissed her. "You're so beautiful. Just think about it, Bones," he grinned. "Your brains, your eyes... my street smarts, combined with our kick-ass skillz... We could make one great kid, right?"

She looked like she was thinking and Booth began to feel like he should backtrack. "Your eyes, your cute smile, my brains... Yes, we _could _make a very great child. However, there are millions of possible genetic combinations--"

He kissed her lips. He kissed her neck. He kissed her breasts and any other soft bare exposed bit of skin, taking her nipple in his mouth and began to make love to her. For the hundredth time, for the first time.

She switched so she was on top. The glow of the lantern made her skin shimmer a soft shade of gold. Her hair rippled over her bare shoulders and breasts and he had to catch his breath. "Wow," he whispered. "You're so beautiful."

She smiled and shook her head, "Aren't you afraid that if you keep telling me that as often as you do, that it'll lose its potency?"

"Mm-mm, no. Because I love you in a million ways, Bones. That can never get old."

"When... did you know you were in love with me?"

"I've always loved you... but I knew I was _in love_ with you when you tried to break my jaw."

"What?"

"And I figured that's when you knew you loved me, too. Am I right?"

She shook her head and gave him a sly look that answered all of his questions without speaking a single word. "You talk too much." She leaned closer and kissed him deeply.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer, tighter, then he flipped her onto the bottom. He ran his hand down her thigh and drawing her closer and himself deeper.

* * *

_Thank you, everyone!!! :D Sorry for the wait, we're moving! Yay! :D_

* * *


	30. Chapter 30

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXX**

"Hungry?" Angela asked. She walked up to Brennan on the forensic platform with a box of Thin Wheats in hand.

Brennan gave her one look and replied, "You really shouldn't be eating on the forensic platform. You could contaminate evidence."

Angela laughed. "If Caroline gets on the wrong track and claims that the Keebler Elf crumbed someone to death, I'm your girl."

"Who?"

Cam slid her card through the reader and wandered onto the platform. "Results are in. I know you've all been losing sleep and dying to know. Dr. Kevorkian did indeed kill the lovely assistant... I feel like I'm reading a trashy mystery novel."

"Finally," Angela breathed. "I feel like I've been living in this lab for the past two days." She put another cracker in her mouth and leaned over Brennan's shoulder.

That was it. Brennan turned to her friend, "Angela! This is a haven for intelligence and science. Go eat in your office!"

Angela was unaffected by the sudden outburst, "Are you and Booth OK? I mean, you're still bumpin' buckles, right?"

Brennan looked to Cam for interpretation. "Sex, Dr. Brennan. She wants to know if the reason you've been so short with everyone is because you haven't been getting sex."

"Oh. Intercourse." Brennan breathed in and rolled out the chair a bit. "The sex is fantastic. We had sex this morning and at lunch time. And we'll probably make love again before we go to bed."

"Woah, baby," Angela grinned. "It's like the honeymoon phase times ten. Good for you... Good for _Booth_!"

"Then what's the matter?" Cam asked, crossing her arms and leaning on the desk.

"We... we're talking to Cullen today. And I am almost positive that I know what his answer will be concerning the retention of our partnership."

"Sweetie..."

"He hates me. My lack of social skills has always gotten in my way to a degree. I see that. But I'm afraid that it has finally kept me from something I really want. It has never gotten in the way of my career. You know, except for getting your job," Brennan looked at Cam. Cam nodded. "Of course, I see now how wonderfully that turned out. But now he not only has our partnership strung out on a line, but he also has Booth's career out there, too."

"What can we do to help?"

"I'm not sure. I guess... you can forgive me for snapping at you. A short fuse seems to be an unconscious way in which I've been dealing with this. That...and the increase of sexual activity. We've made love in every possible place--both in my apartment and Booth's and we've even begun to branch out to the SUV, his office, my office, the supply closet--"

"Girl talk, sweetie. _Seriously_."

Cam rolled her eyes and laughed, "I've seen the security tapes. Quite... colorful."

"Long story short... I still feel like biting peoples' heads. I'm just so nervous." Brennan leaned back, looked at the ceiling and sighed. "I don't know what to do. I haven't eaten anything in twenty-four hours and whenever food comes near me I want to throw up--I'm _not _pregnant. Just extremely anxious."

"You know what I do when I'm nervous, sweetie? I find a dark room and I practice some deep breathing techniques. Just follow me," Angela sat on the floor and crossed her legs. She made wide gestures with her hands and breathed in deeply. "Puraka." Then she breathed out. "Rechaka. Breathe in for four counts, Puraka. Then out for six, Rechaka."

Brennan eyed her friend widely. Yeah. Angela was nuts.

About that time, Hodgins walked onto the platform, "Traces of FeCO2 on the victim's gloves concur with Cam's-- Woah!" He chuckled. Then he looked at his watch. "Listen, I'll be free in five mintues, then we can drink the punch and I think I have a pair of Nikes running around here somehwere. But good for you guys. Really sticking it to organized religion, huh?"

Angela rolled her eyes and stood up. Then she swatted his shoulder and crossed her arms. "Very funny, Hodgins. I'm teaching Bren some deep breathing techniques."

"Whatcha nervous about?"

"Bren and Booth are meeting with Cullen today."

"Angela, I can speak for myself. We're meeting with Cullen today."

Angela rolled her eyes.

"Dang... good luck with that. Today's the big decision, right? To be or not to be, that is the question. Of course if Cullen says no, then we're just a heard of elephants with no water-- Dude, now I'm depressed."

Brennan shook her head, "What do you do when you're anxious, Cam?"

"Me? Let's see... I usually do something relaxing. I get a facial, go for a swim, and I read a good book."

Hodgins shrugged when Brennan's gaze fell on him. "I usually just blow stuff up."

Brennan drummed her nails on the desk. "I don't think I want to deep-breathe or read. I can't leave the Jeffersonian to swim or get a facial..."

Hodgins' grin grew wider. "Now I know why Booth loves you! Give me five minutes!" He ran off the platform, more excited than Boy George with a box of markers.

"People--" Cam plead as they walked away from her. "We don't-- We don't just blow stuff up willy-nilly! There's... protocol. Procedure... Ah... who am I kidding? I wanna see something be blown up, too..."

Five minutes later...

Hodgins grinned a half-grin. "If anybody wants to sing The Star Spangled Banner, that time is now."

"No thanks," Brennan said as she put her protective goggles on and looked through the little portal.

"What, exactly, is supposed to happen?" Cam asked, donning her goggles.

"One drop of this bad boy and there will be a crater the size of toaster in that table."

Angela took her glasses off, "Excuse me. I'd like to preserve my baby-soft skin and... oh, and my LIFE."

Hodgins watched as Angela took her exit, shook his head and laughed. "Women."

"I resent that," Cam said.

Hodgins' brow rose and he gave his boss a once over with a huge grin on his face. "Yeah, you would."

Brennan was completely unaware of the flirting going on next to her. She kept her eyes glued on the table ten feet away.

"Back to business, Dr. Hodgins... if that's what you want to call it." Cam leaned forward, realized maybe a little to much cleavage was being shown and straightened a bit. Hodgins laughed.

At about that moment, Booth was walking toward the Ookey Room, hands in pockets, completely relaxed. He spotted Angela making wild gestures at him. "Hey, Ange. Where's Bones?"

The explosion rattled the lab and cracked the glass of the Ookey Room--how many times those windows had been shattered in the last five years is yet to be known. Booth instinctively covered his head with his arms and lost his balance, falling onto the ground. He had been standing just a foot or two from the Ookey Room when the explosion was detonated. He regained his balance quickly. "Bones! Cam! Hodgins!" He opened the door, almost afraid to see if there were any injuries, much like the last time an explosion had been set off in the lab. He swung open the shattered door and saw Brennan on her back. Hodgins had grabbed Cam and they were down on the floor in a very compromising hold, one which Booth ignored completely. He pulled Brennan to her feet. "Are you OK?"

She nodded, then began to laugh.

"What the hell, Hodgins? Got enough dynamite in that thing?"

"Don't get mad at him. I wanted to see the explosion. I needed that outlet. Thanks, Jack."

Booth shook his head and led Brennan out of the room to her office. "Cullen, Bones. We're meeting him in an hour and now you're covered in soot." He cursed under his breath and took a seat on her sofa.

Brennan sat beside him. "Are you nervous about the meeting?"

"Am I nervous? Hell yes I'm nervous. The only thing keeping me sane is knowing that I'm doing this for us."

"Booth..." Brennan looked at the opposite wall thoughtfully before continuing. "I'm nervous, too." She leaned her head on her hand and smiled at him.

He grinned and reached for his hand. "You know what would make me feel a little less nervous?

"No," she told him, like she was telling a dog to heel. "There are employees in the lab and my walls are made of glass."

"So?" He scooted closer to her, reached up and kissed her. For a moment, she forgot where she was and began to kiss back passionately. She ran her fingers along his torso and began to untie his tie.

"No," she laughed. "You tricked me."

He shrugged. "I'm the master."

"We should get going, Booth."

They walked back toward the doors hand-in-hand. Angela met them first and gave Brennan a hug, then hugged Booth, letting her hand travel south to get a good squeeze of his buttocks. He jumped a bit and she winked at him.

"Good luck, guys."

"Thanks, Ange," Brennan said.

Hodgins and Cam came out of the Ookey Room a second later to wave goodbye to them and wish them luck.

As soon as Brennan and Booth were out of sight, Angela turned toward Cam and Hodgins, "How many illicit affairs does it take to screw in a ligthbulb?" She waggled her brows at Cam and Hodgins, then added. "Bren's pregnant by the way."

"Damn she's good," Cam whispered to Hodgins as Angela sashayed away.

* * *

_How do you like dem apples? (Curve ball!)_

* * *


	31. Chapter 31

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXI**

Walking through the Hoover building for the first time holding hands, showing affection for one another publicly was quite a different experience. Agents here or there that they had worked with in their partnership looked up. Some smiled. Some cast looks of pity on them. Others pretended not to notice altogether.

"Booth," Brennan whispered as they walked through the corridor, "Why are they all looking at us?"

They stopped at the elevator. Booth pushed the up button. He sighed. "There's been talk, Bones."

"Talk?"

He shook his head, not looking her in the eye. "I didn't want to worry you."

"Tell me, Booth."

He finally looked at her. "Cullen's been conducting interviews. He's looking for my replacement."

The news sunk in hard for Brennan. "Booth... I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, Bones. I have a plan. Besides, this is what we have to do, right? So I'm happy for it." He didn't seem happy. He reached out and punched the button and the doors finally slid open.

"What's your plan?" They stepped inside. The doors slid shut.

Booth hit the floor button for Cullen. "I've already put in applications for DC Homicide. I'll be doing the same thing, basically."

"That's not what you want, Booth. You've worked your whole life to become an agent and you've worked your way through the muck and mire to get where you are today--"

"Bones. Just stop it, OK? All I've wanted is to pay my debt to society. I'm doing that, yes. But I'll be doing that just the same working for DC Police as a Homicide Detective."

Brennan dropped the subject, but she knew that it wasn't what he really wanted.

He reached for her hand. "I'm happy, Bones. For the first time in my life, I'm happy with where my life is. I love you. I love Parker. I love my job and the beauty of it is that I can work it anywhere in the world. I'm happy," he assured her.

She squeezed back. "I'm scared to death, Booth."

The doors slid open.

"We're not alone in this, Bones. We've got each other."

They walked down another corridor. Cullen's office door came into sight. Booth opened it. It was like everything was in slow motion. His secretary asked for their names and asked for them to wait.

"I'm going to be sick," Brennan whispered.

"Me, too," Booth whispered back.

"You can go in now," the secretary said. She was a chubby brunette with large black eyes and a sweet smile.

"Thanks," Booth mumbled.

"Uh, Agent Booth," the woman said. He stopped and turned. "I hope this isn't too intrusive, but my brother is a P.I. He makes pretty good money and you're more than qualified. I told him about you and he seemed excited." She opened a drawer and slid a card across the table for him.

Booth took it into his hands as if it weighed ten pounds. "Thanks," he said even weaker than before.

"At least it won't sting so much when he fires you. You're prepared for the blow," Brennan said.

Booth knew she was trying to be helpful, but he couldn't help but to grit his teeth at the remark. He opened the door and they entered the office.

Cullen was writing at his desk. When he heard the door handle turn. He took off his glasses and looked up, "Take a seat, Dr. Brennan," then as an afterthought, he added, "Booth."

They took their seats. Booth looked the man straight in the eye, while Brennan measured Booth's reaction.

"You two sure the hell must love each other or you wouldn't be here," he began. "Have you been looking into jobs, Booth?"

"Yes, Sir."

He leaned back slowly in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. "How long have you been with the FBI, Booth?"

"Thirteen years, Sir."

"You're a damn good agent."

"Thank you, Sir."

"But you're a cocky sonovabitch."

"Yes, Sir."

"Did I ask you for your opinion on the subject?"

"No, Sir."

"Dr. Brennan, when did you first start working with the FBI? Refresh my memory."

"Uh--" Her eyes raced between the two men. The question came out of nowhere, and even being quick at processing information, she was too slow to reply.

"I remember the day. Booth here had you examine a body back in Oh-Four. After that he told me he'd never work with you and I let the subject drop. Five agents after that worked with you and each and every one told me the same thing. I chocked it up to that blimp-size brain of yours. But when he came and asked me for you to be his partner and go out in the field with him a year later, he practically begged me to let you out. I went out on a goddamn line for you two." A dreadful silence filled the room. "Turns out it was a good move. Not only for Booth professionally, but for me. I'll be honest with you two. Nothing's better than getting a pat on the back, even if it was for someone else's idea. Don't you goddamn smile, Agent Booth. I'm not done yet."

"Sorry, Sir."

"You're damn right you're sorry." He cleared his throat. "DC Police called me yesterday asking for a recommendation. Apparently you were wise-ass enough to put me on that form. Did you honestly believe I'd give the man a good report? Do you, Booth?"

"No, Sir. Sorry."

"You're damn right. I said, 'Police Chief Allen, Agent Booth is a pain in my ass. I've never met such an obstinate and _dumbass _cock-sucking asshole in my whole life. If you have half a mind, you wouldn't waste your time and you'll tear up that application right now.'"

Booth closed his eyes. Re-opened them.

"Do you think Allen would hire you, Booth? He torched the application while I was on the phone with him. I'm having coffee with him after this interview."

"Sir-- I can't believe that I've been such a G-d-awful agent that you would pull my name through the mud like that."

"Excuse me, Agent Booth, but this is my office. I speak. Not you. When I want you to speak, I'll tell you to speak. Are we clear?"

Booth gritted his teeth and nodded stiffly. Images of throwing Cullen through the window drifted through his mind.

"Like it or not, Booth, you'll never work for the DC Police or any other law authority in this country... Because you'll always have a job right here in this bureau."

"Ex--Excuse me?"

"I can't excuse your disrespect for this institution, Booth. And I'll probably run your ass ragged for the next year until this whole event fades into a bitter and distant memory. That being said, I will go through my reasons for keeping you on as an agent. One, make no mistake that there are other agents in the field who can do just as good a job as you can. You _aren't_ special. But you _two _are. Two, I have a special place for you two because of what you and your squints did for my daughter. I'll never forget that. And last, but not least, you two aren't the first to mess around in the FBI and it's not like I didn't see it coming. I just wanted to make you two sweat a bit."

"It worked."

"Good. Now get the hell out of my office. I have a lunch meeting at noon...Gotta tell Allen why I lied my ass off."

They both stood up quickly because of his biting tone of voice.

Outside the door, Booth and Brennan took a minute to take a deep breath. "Holy hell, that man is scary." Booth reached into his pocket and pulled out the card that read James Werner, Private Investigator. He looked at it, jiggled it between his fingers and slid it back to the secretary. "Won't be needing this after all," he grinned.

The secretary eyed him curiously and slid it toward her. "You sure?"

"I'm sure."

He wrapped his hand around Brennan's waist and they walked out of the building among whispers of, "He just got canned," and "What's he happy about?"

* * *

_Did I make you sweat at all?  
_

* * *


	32. Chapter 32

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXII**

"I'm just saying that the 'American Dream', as they call it, is hardly attainable for the average immigrant."

"Bones, you don't see me going around dogging on science."

"Of course not, it's not your area of expertise."

"But immigration and the American Dream is _your _area of expertise?"

"You're doing it again. You're being sarcastic. I don't appreciate that."

"You know what I don't appreciate? I don't appreciate people going around saying that people who come into this country can't reach their goals."

"To clarify, Booth, I said that the _average _immigrant can't attain their dreams. Think about the rate of unemployment among immigrants, the fact that even something such as _presidency _isn't attainable for people not born in this country--"

"That's just to protect the country, Bones. You don't want a terrorist or someone like that coming in and taking over the place, do you?"

"Now you're just being paranoid. There aren't as many terrorists in the world plotting to take over the USA as you think there are."

"Ah! But there might be _one_. And that law protects this country from that _one_."

"You know I was using exaggeration, hyperbole. You're just being difficult."

"I'm difficult? That's like the pot calling the kettle black, Bones." He got out, walked around the SUV and opened the door for Brennan.

She got out, wearing a black low cut dress and smoldering black eye shadow. She shook her head. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"No, Bones. I'm just saying that you're just as difficult as I am."

"Fine."

"_Fine_."

"_Fine_."

He put his elbow out for her to wrap her arm around, which she did easily and he smiled at her. "You look... really really gorgeous in that dress, Bones. _Sexy_."

The blue orbs rolled, "I know. You tore it off from me twenty minutes ago. We're probably late now thanks to you."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it," he whispered in her ear.

Turning her head, she kissed him. The kiss grew until they were wrapped around each other. His hands slipped under her coat and along her bare back. "I really, _really _love this dress," he growled.

"So you've said."

"There you guys are!" Angela opened the door of the restaurant and walked onto the sidewalk and gave Brennan a hug and gave Booth a once over. "You look great! Now if you two could stop groping each other for five minutes, we have a celebration going on inside."

They took two steps toward the door and Angela grabbed Brennan's arm, "Give us a minute, Booth?"

"Sure." Booth walked several paces away out of ear-shot and waited, hands in pockets.

"I--I may have done a bad thing," Angela whispered to Brennan.

"What did you do?" Brennan asked.

"I... was a little drunk yesterday... hung over, actually. Munchies? I'm dating this guy--well, I dumped his ass last night, but-- I only inhaled... like you haven't heard that story before, but I don't do drugs... I...I may have said a few things that I didn't mean. Well, I was dead-on with the Hodgins/Cam thing--"

"What Hodgins/Cam thing?"

"Focus, sweetie. What matters now is that... I'm sorry. OK? You love me, right?"

"Of course, Angela. You're my best friend."

"Exactly. Just, when we go inside, remember that I'm not trained in Tai-Chi or whatever and I'm really, _really _sorry." She looked at Booth and caught his eye. "How about we go in?"

Angela walked ahead of the couple as they walked into the restaurant.

"What was that about?" Booth asked.

"I'm not sure..."

They turned a corner, following Angela's specter as she slipped through the crowds and tables. A live band was playing and singing and the whole place was blanketed in low lights that hung over individual tables and candles. They walked through the double doors of a back room.

Inside, they were met by a small crowd of friends and coworkers. A few FBI agents including Charlie and a blond female agent they'd worked with that January, Cam, Hodgins, Angela, Sweets, Clark, about half a dozen of Brennan's grad students, Caroline Julian, Cullen and his wife, Dr. Goodman and his family, and a random assortment of squints and scientists.

Cam gave Brennan a hug and whispered, "Congratulations. On both fronts."

"Both fronts?"

"Angela let us know."

Hodgins gave Booth a hug. One which Booth accepted by standing stiffly and not throwing him on the ground. "Congrats, man! Is Parker excited?"

Booth shrugged. "He didn't mind. He already thought we were having sex."

Hodgins laughed and patted Booth on the back. "Kids, right?"

"Well, well, well," Caroline said, wearing a serious expression. "Cullen gives you two a second chance and you go and do this."

"Don't worry, we already had a long talk," Booth said.

"And he didn't throw you out of Air Force One? You're _daaaaamn _lucky, Cherie."

Booth laughed. "I thought he was going to."

Sweets squeezed through to be the next to congratulate the couple, "I'm always the last to know these things, but I forgive you. I'd suggest the name Lance, but I was called Lance Farts-in-His-Pants through grade school, so... That's not very conducive to the proper development of a child's psyche. Paul's a good name."

"Give the man some air," Cam said laughing. She gave Booth a hug. "I would have never believed it in a million years if someone had tattooed it on my forehead, but I'm really happy for you, Seeley."

"Thanks..." Booth was still wondering about Sweets' comment.

"And as for the name Lance, I'm a hundred percent against it."

"Hey," Sweets said.

Cam rolled her eyes. "Parker must be thrilled."

"Well, he's OK with it."

"Just OK?!"

Booth narrowed his gaze at his friend.

At about that moment, Brennan was being given Dr. Goodman's best wishes. "Dr. Brennan, I am so happy for you. I love being a husband and a father. I'm so glad that that particular blessing can be shared by you and Agent Booth."

"Uh... We're--just dating now."

"Of course, of course. I figured you wouldn't be the type to rush into marriage. If only Dr. Addy could see you now. He would be so proud of you."

Brennan only nodded.

"Have heart, Dr. Brennan. The pitter-patter of little feet will soon assist in filling that void."

"Little... feet?" Was that a colloquialism of some sort that she wasn't familiar with?

Clark wandered by. "Dr. Edison," Brennan said. "Dr. Goodman, I would like you to meet Dr. Clark Edison."

"Dr. Edison, it's a pleasure. I've heard quite a bit about you. Now if you'll excuse me," Goodman disappeared, trying to find his wife.

"I'm glad you came," Brennan said.

Clark feigned a smile and raised his glass. "Usually, I try to separate the professional and the personal. Although you two seem to have failed in that area, I figure that this little party might promote that atmosphere." He paused, realizing he might have come off too harshly, "Sorry, I--"

Brennan shook her head, "No, it's OK. I appreciate your candor and professionalism."

Clark nodded, "You're alright, Dr. B."

Hodgins wrapped his arm around Clark's neck and made a drinking sign, "He's had a little too much to drink." As he walked him away, he could be heard whispering, "Dude, you're gonna get yourself fired. Knock it off. I actually like you."

"Gee, thanks," Clark said, rolling his eyes.

Cam chimed her glass several times. _Ching-Ching-Ching-Ching._

All eyes rose to her. She was standing on a chair above the crowd with her glass in hand.

"You might need this," Hodgins whispered, taking Brennan's beverage from her hand and exchanging it for orange juice.

Cam cleared her throat. "Thanks for coming tonight. We're here among family, friends, and colleagues to celebrate--_two _wonderful events. The first and foremost being that Booth and Brennan will remain partnered. They will keep on crime-fighting and I hope I speak for everyone in saying that we all owe our thanks and gratitude to Deputy Director Sam Cullen. We _are _a family. We _are _a team. And I'm grateful that I've been given the opportunity to be part of this amazing group of people."

People raised their glasses and said, "Here, here!"

Booth looked over at Brennan, "What happened to your drink?"

"Hodgins took it. I think it's a special toasting drink. I'm not sure."

Booth shook his head. "Squints. Can't live with 'em. Can't work without 'em."

"And for the second wonderful thing--I'm sure you all have already heard about it by now, but I got you two something special. One second," Cam got down from the chair and picked up a small plastic bag from the table. "My girlfriend from high school runs a small Silk Printing business in Baltimore. I rush ordered this just-- Just because." Cam grinned widely, her cheek dimpling as she opened the plastic bag. People strained to see what it was. She pulled out a small amount of cotton material, then unraveled it and held it up.

"What's--?" Booth asked.

It was a small newborn size onesie with the words **"Jr. Squint" **written across the top. The crowd laughed and began to clap.

Somewhere in the back of the room, Angela was burying her face in her hand.

Booth's eyes grew wide. Brennan's grew wider.

Then Cam spoke, "Booth and Brennan are expecting their own Junior Squint! Congratulations!"

More clapping. More cheering.

Booth's mouth grew dry and his hands grew moist.

Brennan had never felt so many eyes boring into her head in all of her life. They all turned, smiled and _aww_ed as if by some nefarious cue.

Her feet were frozen in place when all she wanted to do was retreat.

"Sweetie, I am so sorry," she heard Angela say.

"Bones, are--are you really?"

"Booth, first of all, _of_ _course _I'm not pregnant! Second of all," Brennan turned toward Angela, "What were you _thinking_, Angela!?"

Brennan speed-walked through the crowd and disappeared into the ladies' room.

"Does this mean there's no Junior Squint? Now I'm kinda bummed," Sweets sighed.

Booth shook his head and grabbed Sweets, pulling him to the bathroom door. "Bones, what's going on?"

Cam and Angela walked up beside them.

"Booth, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's OK, Cam."

She was still holding the little onesie. She handed it to Booth, "Maybe Jared's little boy can wear it when he arrives."

Booth took it into his hands, "Thanks, Cam."

"I'm really sorry, Booth."

"It's OK, Ange. Can you guys give us a minute? Sweets, you're staying." He turned to the door again, "Bones. What's going on?"

She opened the door, "Besides the fact that I'm thoroughly humiliated and everyone we work with thinks we're with child?"

"_With child_?" Booth repeated. He shook off the random archaic phrase, "Bones, why are you so upset?"

He came into the bathroom and sat down beside her.

Sweets sat across from them and the little bathroom in the restaurant was somehow transformed into a psychiatrist's office. "I think why Dr. Brennan is so upset is because she has spent the majority of her life creating this facade, this exterior and basically, within a matter of minutes it was totally trampled on."

"Thanks for that, Sweets," Booth said flatly.

"No prob. You know, false fronts are often a product of low self-confidence and a fear to face real life pressures."

"You know, Sweets, I thought you'd be helpful, but now you're just annoying me."

"Fine, but you know we'll be talking about this on Thursday." Sweets stood and left Booth and Brennan alone.

Brennan leaned her head back and looked at the tiles on the ceiling for several silent seconds. Booth fiddled with the **"Jr. Squint"** onesie between his thumbs.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Would it really be that terrible, Bones?"

Her blue eyes wandered over to meet his. "What?"

"This," he held up the onesie. "A little me and a little you. Does it really necessitate running off like this? Would it really be that bad?" He kept his eyes on the onesie that he knew would never be worn by his child. "Because... I'm afraid that if..."

Brennan reached for the onesie and held it in her hands. "Sweets was right. I'm afraid that if we do this... that everyone will look at me like they looked at me out there. They won't see my mind first, but my abilities to procreate. How many people will-- I'm just extremely embarrassed."

Booth reached for her hand. "Hate to break it to you, Bones, but people don't always see your brain first. Sometimes they see your gorgeous eyes or your great body your your beautiful face, but the Temperance Brennan _I know_ has always made people see her intelligence first and foremost. Being a mother or a writer or a hot scientist _has _never and _will _never get in your way."

She rested her head in her hands, then looked at the onesie. A little smile cracked her lips. "It's pretty cute, Booth. I'm sure you would've wanted it to say_ Jr. Agent_."

"How about... we get one that says _Jr. Crimefighter_? Combine the two. Of--of course... Only if you want one."

Brennan smiled and looked at the little onesie. His eyes, her eyes. His smile, hers. "We could get one of each. Not yet, of course. "

Booth grinned and slid his arm behind her shoulders, then he kissed her temple. "I love you, Bones."

"I love you, too." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

He leaned his head against hers. "So I'm thinking six or seven."

"Onesies?"

"Kids."

She began to laugh. "You're joking, right? Having two children is the most environmentally friendly, not to mention practical and smart, thing you can do. One to replace each parent. And you already have Parker. So one child is the only logical answer."

"Eh... four?"

"One! And all of those reasons I just gave you didn't even include the fact that having more than one child only draws your attention away from him or her. Having just one will guarantee that you never let your child fall through the cracks; you can always provide the things he or she needs. Our child will have a quality education and plenty of love. And if you're worried about social implications--"

He kissed her, cutting off her words, "One sounds like a good enough number for me, Bones." He kissed her cheek.

* * *

_I chose that conclusion to the pregnancy thing because, I thought, Brennan never does anything by accident and everyone writes the "they got pregnant by accident" story. ;)  
_

* * *


	33. Chapter 33

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXIII**

Angela stood at Brennan's door jamb for several silent seconds before knocking softly.

Brennan glanced up then back at her work, "What do you want, Ange? I don't have a lot of time right now. I'm busy."

"Sweetie, are you still pissed at me?" She took a seat across from Brennan at her desk.

"Of course not. I don't hold grudges. It's childish." The crease between her eyes told otherwise.

Angela swallowed, then said, "I'm really sorry I embarrassed you. I arrived at the restaurant like five seconds before you guys did and the whole place was buzzing with baby news. I didn't think Cam was going to surprise you or anything. I just thought random people were going to ask you about being pregnant."

Brennan put down her work. "You _did _embarrass me, Angela. I've never been so mortified in my entire life."

"I... I would have broken it to everyone before you arrived, but I just saw how excited people were. I--I guess that I figured you would be better at telling everyone off. I'm really sorry, sweetie. I screwed up." Angela stood up and walked around the desk. She sat on the edge of it. "I hate seeing how mad you are at me. I can't stand it. Bren, you're my sister. I only have my dad and he's always on tour. You're my family. Please look at me, Bren."

Brennan looked up. The expression on her face told her everything before she spoke. "Really?" Angela nodded. "I've always thought of you as a sister, too. Before I found my dad and Russ, you were the only family I had." Brennan stood and the two women hugged. "I love you, Ange."

"I love you, too, Bren."

"Sweetie, are you _crying_?" Angela pulled back enough to look at Brennan's face.

"No," she replied, laughing a little and wiping her eyes. She hugged Angela tight again. "I've been a terrible best friend... and sister."

"Sweetie, don't sweat it. It's not like I haven't been pissed at you, either."

Brennan shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. Booth and I have been discussing marriage and children."

Angela smirked and crossed her arms, "I'd say it was early, but it isn't. You two have been in a sexless marriage since you two got partnered." Angela took a seat on the desk, resting her feet on Brennan's desk chair.

Brennan mirrored her moves and sat beside her. "I told him I would consider it."

"How romantic," Angela laughed.

Brennan rolled her eyes,"I suppose what you did last night wasn't so bad. When we were in the restroom, I _more than_ considered motherhood."

"_More than considered_? Sweetie!"

Brennan crossed her arms over her chest and looked thoughtfully at her shoes. "We've agreed on one child. He was really happy, Ange. Really... overjoyed." A smile played on her lips.

"Of course he was. Who wouldn't want to see a little one running around. Your eyes. His tight ass--well, not 'til later of course. That's a great lookin' kid."

Brennan laughed, "I've always been afraid of it--being a mother. But the thought of it now-- makes me happy. Booth is a great father. I love him. And the thought of having family out there who will love me unconditionally--It's unbelievable."

Angela held Brennan's hand and rested her head on her shoulder. "Sweetie, you already have family who loves you unconditionally. Me, Booth, Cam, Hodgins, Zack--and that's not even counting your felon father and parolee brother. This will just be that maraschino cherry that tops everything off."

Brennan squeezed back, "Thanks, Ange." After a second, "What's a maraschino cherry?"

"Neon red deliciousness, sweetie. It's where perfectly healthy food meets preservatives and Red Dye Number 40. We'll get better acquainted with those later."

"Knock, knock." The women looked at the doorway where Cam stood. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No. Come on in, Cam."

"Tox results are in," Cam said, laying a folder on Brennan's desk. "Our victim was high as a kite when he died."

"How much did you hear?" Brennan asked.

Cam smiled softly. "Just enough." She came into the office and leaned against the desk.

"I suppose you think it's totally uncharacteristic of me."

Cam shook her head slowly. "No. Not necessarily. I actually think that it's totally _characteristic_. Everyone has the capacity to love and change their minds concerning marriage and motherhood." She was quiet for a second. "You know, there are reasons I decided not to become a mother. They were selfish... I was afraid. I was hurt and I had to leave someone I loved behind. I'm not going to bore you with details, but--" She rubbed her nose. "I think that it's OK for you to fall in love, Brennan. And it's OK to make a decision--any decision--about motherhood. And it's _more than_ OK to change your mind. I want you to know that the congratulations I gave you and Booth on Saturday was sincere. I think you will be a great mother. And you and Booth make a great team, no matter what the situation."

Brennan stood up and embraced Cam. "Thank you, Cam."

Cam held her out at a distance, "Now stop, you're gonna make me cry. Seriously, I blubber like a six month old when the mood hits me."

"How did I get such great friends?"

"Oh, Jeez," Hodgins said, coming into the office, carrying a report in his hand. "You know what's been missing since Zack left? _Testosterone_. You guys hug way too much for my comfort. Please, Brennan, PLEASE hire a guy. I'm afraid if you hire a woman, then all of the hugging and menstruating will leak into the drinking water." He laid the report on the desk and looked Cam over. "Looking good today." Then he looked at Angela and Brennan and cleared his throat. "As are... you two."

Angela laughed and rolled her eyes, "Please."

"Anyhoo--" He glared at Angela, then lightened his hard look. "Clark and I were replicating the explosion with sweet results. Long story short, Williams is guilty as sin and if we get another chance to examine a body that's been blown to smithereens, then say, 'Yes please' and I'll love you forever."

"Easy there, cowboy," Angela said, grinning. "One boss at a time."

"You just know everything."

"Heel," Cam commanded. "Go back to your work, Hodgins before I have to separate you two."

Hodgins just smiled, "Yes, ma'am." And then he exited.

Cam turned around once he was gone. A blight blush painted her cheeks. "It's not what it looks like."

Angela shrugged. "It's not you two playing NEKID Twister on lunch breaks? A little storage closet action? Wait, your office is fairly private, right?"

Cam narrowed her eyes. "I'll give you a five percent raise."

"Make it ten and I'll keep my lips sealed."

"Eight."

"Deal."

Brennan smiled, "So how long has this been going on?"

"Do you want a raise, too?"

"I don't do it for the money, I'm a best selling author."

"Right." There went her pull. Dang. "A few months. How long have you two...?"

"How long have Booth and I been having intercourse?"

Cam shook her head. "I didn't ask that. How long have you been looking at your colleague like that, Dr. Brennan?" Cam smiled.

Brennan opened her mouth a bit, totally intending on giving a logical, rational, and objective reply... but, "I've basically been picturing him naked since I met him. Who wouldn't?"

"Ah. Touche." Cam stood and took a few steps.

"I've seen Hodgins in a towel before. He's torn."

"Ripped, Sweetie."

"He's ripped."

Cam paused, then turned, "Yes, he is. What are you getting at?"

"How long have you been looking at _your _colleague like _that_?"

Cam just smiled and exited the room.

* * *

_Pssst! I have a surprise planned for the next chapter!!!  
_

* * *


	34. Chapter 34

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXIV**

Months later...**  
**

The wait for the elevator seemed to take an eternity. He fidgeted with his watch by swishing his wrist back and forth.

She looked over, catching a glance of him and smiled to herself. "Nervous?"

He pressed his hands into his pockets to steady his nerves. "Yeah. You?"

Brennan shrugged. "Not really. Childbirth is a natural process. Billions of women throughout history have gone through it."

"Yeah, Bones, but this isn't like any of those other times."

"How is that?"

"We're going to be there, Bones. Watching this little life come into the world." The elevator doors opened. Nurses and patients flooded through the doors. "_Finally_," he breathed.

"You act like this is your first time," she laughed.

They stepped into the elevator and once again he was fidgeting with the watch. Hands hid in pockets once again. "Rebecca didn't let me into the delivery room. I don't think she was very comfortable with the idea of her ex seeing her—her—you know…"

"Vagina?"

A woman who was standing by Brennan shot her a curious look, then turned toward the opposite wall.

"Bones," he whispered. "Do you have to be so technical all the time?"

"What would you like me to call it? I think I heard someone call it a cunt once, but that just sounds vulgar."

The elevator doors opened on floor two and the woman exited the elevator as if her feet were on fire.

Booth shook his head, "Yeah, Bones, that _is _vulgar. It's a very _vulgar _word."

"And vagina is also? Help me out here, Booth. I'm confused with what kind of semantics you would like me to stick with—technical or vulgar?"

"How about neither."

"I can't use neither, Booth."

The doors opened and the two exited and began to make their way down the Maternity wing of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, a place where, just six months before, they had spent quite a bit of time in.

"Fine, Bones. I get to choose, though. You're not exactly good at picking out which words work best in social situations."

They walked up to the front desk. "Can I help you?" An office tech asked.

"We're here to see Tanya Booth. She's in 312."

The nurse looked on her computer. "Names?"

"Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan."

"Alright, just sign here and I'll need some photo ID."

"Coochie?" Brennan asked.

"_Excuse _me?"

Booth's eyes widened. "We're just—we're just having a conversation."

The woman made an odd face, "If you say so."

"Potty spot? Privates? I'm sorry, Booth, I just think that _vagina _is the more biologically accurate word in this situation."

"Fine! Vagina!"

A few heads turned. Booth groaned.

"Three-twelve," the lady said. "_Please_… just _go_."

They walked away, Booth leading her. She slapped at his hand. "There's no need to drag me off where ever we go."

"You just need to learn how to be more delicate."

"If people can't deal with the proper names of body parts, then they've much larger issues. Issues in which may need psychological assessing of some sort. I'm sure Sweets knows someone."

"Never thought I'd live to hear you talk about psychology so much, Bones."

"I admit that psychology has its uses. However, I will _never _call it a science. Psychology is based on assessment and testing which is _ALL _predicated on the ability to make predictions on possible outcomes. There's even a formula in which to calculate the amount of error in psychological testing. Science is about _absolutes_. Psychology is _not_."

"That's harsh, Bones. Good thing Sweets isn't here, he'd need to hug a teddy or something."

Brennan rolled her eyes as Booth knocked on 312's door.

Jared met them at the door and hugged Booth. "I'm totally freaked out, Seeley."

"What's going on?"

Jared looked back at where Tanya was dealing with a contraction. Anne and Tanya's mother looked on concernedly, rubbed her back, and offered counter pressure.

Jared closed the door, "So we all came in at five to be induced. The doc broke her water at five-thirty and she's only at six centimeters."

"Oh," Brennan said.

"Oh? What 'oh'?" Booth asked.

"The concern is with the introduction of infection into the uterus," Brennan said. "The longer she's in labor and her uterus is open to outside microorganisms, the greater chance that she or the baby will be at risk of infection."

"Oh," Booth said.

"It's," Jared looked at his watch. "Almost six now. The doctor gave us extra time to get the baby out, but it's not looking like she'll be able to deliver and she'll have to have a C-Section. I know Tanya doesn't want that and I sure the hell don't. I mean, what if—what if—" He looked back at Tanya through the glass window set in the door, "I don't want to freak her out or anything, so I've been all, 'It's gonna be OK' and shit—and I'm just not real sure that it's gonna _be _OK. I'm afraid that something will go wrong in the O.R. and…" Jared put his hand to his head and walked in a circle.

"Hey," Booth said gently. "It _will be_ OK. And I'm not just telling you that to make you stop crying like a girl. I'm serious. No matter what, Caleb's going to be in your arms in no time. Right? And Tanya's going to be OK and so will your little boy. You've got us. We're family. We'll hang out for a couple of weeks if we have to after the baby's born. Help out. Clean dishes. Mop. Sweep. Give the baby a bottle. Whatever—"

"She's got her mind set on breastfeeding."

"How very environmentally friendly of her," Brennan noted. "And a healthy choice for both mother and child. I was breastfed."

Booth decided to ignore Brennan. "She can pump. I'm just saying that we're here for you, man. Don't even worry. Just go in there. Hold Tanya's hand and we'll hold together."

"Yeah," Jared nodded. "We'll hold. Thanks, bro."

"No problem."

Jared went back into the hospital room.

Brennan kept her eyes on Booth and smiled. "We'll hold?"

Booth reached for her hand and kissed her. She smiled against his lips. He smiled, too. "I just figured that if the phrase holds for us, then it holds for any kind of family."

"You said it."

"Huh?"

"We're family."

"I've always thought so."

The door opened. "Coming in, hun?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, Mom."

"Good. I'm glad to see all of my kids in the same room again."

"Me, too."

A doctor who could have passed as Sweets' brother came walking down the hallway and entered the hospital room ahead of Booth and Brennan.

"I'm Dr. Sandburg," the man said to Booth and Brennan. "Well, Tanya, let's just check to see how we're doing and we'll explore our options. How about you scoot your bottom to the edge of the bed. That's right."

"Oh…."

"Contraction?"

Tanya nodded and squeezed her mother's hand. Her mother was an older version of her daughter. Short, dark hair, dark eyes.

"We'll just wait a second 'til it passes." The contraction passed and Booth and Brennan looked on as the doctor conducted his examination. He removed his gloves and rolled over to the side of Tanya's bed. "Well," he sighed. "You're about a six and a half. Nothing seems to have changed."

"What does this mean?" Jared asked, crossing his arms over his chest. A wrinkle formed between his brows, his hair was much shorter and well-groomed than last that Booth or Brennan had seen him.

"Well, if she was any farther along, then I would just up your Pitocin drip and hope for the best. Give you an hour or two, but at this point, you're progressing very slowly. I think that we're both on the same side when I say that the health of the little guy in there is our chief concern." Jared nodded. Sandburg adjusted his glasses. "I think we should talk about a Cesarean Section. I make a point to never make that choice lightly. There are risks, but we're going on twenty-four hours now. Your temp's 99.8—not high, but elevated. I think we should nip this in the bud. Deliver the baby before anything bad happens."

"What happens if an infection sets in?" Jared asks.

"You could lose them. Your wife, your son. We'll have to perform an emergency C-Section. I think that a Cesarean is much less frightening when it's planned in advance. We can make sure your epidural's in, you won't have to be knocked out. You'll see your baby as soon as he enters the world. And we can make sure we get an aesthetically pleasing incision, nice and low, between the hip-bones."

Tanya nodded slowly. "OK," she said weakly. "I'm—I'm just so tired. I don't think I could even push Caleb out if I wanted to." A tear slipped from the crease of her eye down to her pillow. "Sorry," she whispered, covering her eyes with her right hand. "It's just—it's just not the way I pictured it." She wept quietly for several seconds. Jared reached for her hand and squeezed it softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, babe. Don't be sorry."

"What do you think?" Dr. Sandburg asked Jared.

"I think… I think I want what Tanya wants. I also want my wife and son to be alive at the end of this."

"I'll get the paperwork in here in a minute. In the meantime, Mrs. Booth, you get to take a break from the Pitocin."

"Thank G-d," Tanya laughed through her tears as Sandburg stood and turned off the drip.

"I'll be in in a second. Just take a break and rest in the meantime. You're going to have your baby boy in your arms in about twenty minutes."

Jared smiled and kissed Tanya. "Hear that? Caleb's gonna be here in the next half hour."

A minute later, the doctor and a few nurses came in. An anesthesiologist came in a second later and asked everyone to leave the room so he could administer the spinal block.

While the four adults were standing in the hallway, Sandburg came up. "There's a viewing room. If you follow me, you'll all be able to watch baby Booth come into the world."

The group followed Sandburg to the viewing room. The room was basically a glass insert into the O.R.

"Will be able to see the procedure from this angle?" Brennan asked.

"Every bloody moment of it," Sandburg said.

"Oh my," Tanya's mother said. "I need to take a seat, then. I can't stand blood."

"Really?" Brennan asked. That whole concept was beyond her. "Doesn't bother me."

Anne chuckled to herself. "Well, I can't blame you, Rosa."

"Bones, of course it doesn't bother you. Human sludge is your specialty."

"Bones are hard and mineral-rich. You can hardly call that sludge."

"Enjoy the show," Sandburg said, taking his exit.

"I think we've all seen our share of sludge in this job," Booth muttered. "Remember the bathtub of human goo? Or the Rodger Soup?"

"You've made your point," Brennan said. "Or the belly button ring. Remember that?"

"Yeah, that was nasty."

"There she is," Anne said. They all looked up to see Tanya being rolled into the O.R. Jared was told to scrub his hands and wait until he was told he could enter.

A few minutes later, Jared came into the O.R. and the surgery began.

"Look," Brennan said. "They made the incision." The look on her face said she was totally fascinated. "You know, if I were to have a C-Section, I would want a mirror. Do you think they would let me watch?"

Booth cringed. "I don't know whether to be glad that you're talking about having a baby or be disgusted that you'd want to watch that."

"I would have a spinal, Booth. I wouldn't feel a thing. I can compartmentalize and separate my mind from the fact that they're cutting into my fascia and uterus."

"Enough talk," Booth said. "Let's just… let's just watch and not talk about scalpels and uteri."

A moment later and two bloody little legs entered the world followed by two shoulders and a head.

"Oh my gosh!" Anne whispered, clasping her hands. "He's here."

"Ay, Dios. He's beautiful!" Rosa whispered.

"Wow," Booth said.

Brennan found no words for the experience. She watched every detail as an O.R. nurse brought the little boy to the warming lamps and suctioned his mouth. Although they couldn't hear a thing, little Caleb turned pink , cried, and reached for heaven with two skinny little arms. The nurse put a blue and white striped cap on his head and wrapped him up. Caleb was brought over to Tanya and Jared. Jared grinned widely as he set his eyes on his little boy. His miracle. Tanya cried silently. It was an amazing pantomime of joy. And Brennan found no words for it. But that didn't keep a tear from slipping from her blue eye and down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly.

At that second, Booth reached his hand down and touched her hand. She wrapped her hand tightly around his.

"It's a miracle, isn't it?" Booth said.

Anne nodded.

Rosa nodded.

And so did the woman who held Seeley Booth's hand. She held his hand like there was no tomorrow.

* * *

_So, I'm taking this writing course this semester. And luckily for me--and you, my dear readers--we're supposed to do this 'assignment' where we write every day for an hour at least 500 words.... something I already do. But now I'll be forced to write a little more than I usually do. AND the prof's not reading anything I write. We're just supposed to record how much and for how long. Woopee. Lucky me.... lucky you! ;)_

_Oh... and 312 (the episode) is Baby in the Bough... hehehehe. Another fun room number. Did anyone catch that?  
_

* * *


	35. Chapter 35

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXV**

"I would like for you all to meet Caleb Anthony Booth." Jared took his tiny son into his arms and tilted him up just a bit. He reached up and pushed his cap up so all could see his cherubic face. "You wanna hold him, Mom?"

Anne nodded as Caleb was passed off to her. "Hi, sweetheart," she sang. "He's perfect, Jared... just perfect. I really can't think of a better adjective." Anne looked at Bob who was standing a respectable distance away from the family. "Do you want to hold him, Bob?"

He shook his head, "No. It wouldn't be right."

"Don't be silly."

"I don't mind, Bob," Jared said. "You're family now and technically this is your first grandson." That comment took Bob off guard. "I'm serious. You have my blessing. Caleb's gonna need a grandpa."

"Yeah?"

Jared nodded and took Caleb from Anne, then put Caleb into Bob's arms. Bob laughed and looked down on Caleb. "Hey, little fella. I'm--I'm your Bob."

"Grandpa's probably easier for him to say," Jared said, smiling.

"I'm your Grandpa." Bob wiped his cheek on his shoulder. Anne reached up and rubbed Bob's back, then kissed his cheek.

"How about you, Rosa? Grandparents get first dibs."

Caleb was then passed to his Abuela's arms. "You are so adorable," she cooed. "You did a great job, Antonia. You couldn't have created a more beautiful baby."

Tanya laughed, "Stop, Mama. You're making me cry."

Rosa kissed Caleb's forehead.

"OK, time for some Uncle Seeley bonding time," Booth said, taking Caleb gently from Rosa. "This is gonna be great," he said to the baby. "I'm gonna do all of the stuff that I can't let Parker do--throw water balloons at unsuspecting people for example, teach you to spit, throw things through plate glass windows... all of that fun stuff."

Jared laughed, "No... no, no, no. I don't think so, Seeley."

"Hey, payback, man. You teach my son to do things he's not allowed to. I'm just repaying the favor."

"Give me back my son, Seeley."

"Not until I teach him how to pee on his old man." The men laughed, then Booth looked at Brennan. "You wanna hold him, Bones?"

She shook her head. "I'll just pass for now."

"You sure?"

She nodded. "I can hold him another time. I haven't disinfected my hands or anything."

Booth just nodded. He knew that it was about more than dirty hands--a thing that she never had.

Jared took Caleb back into his arms. "Wow... he's just so... perfect." He looked down and smiled at Tanya, then kissed her, then kissed his son. "Just think about it... six months ago we were here and we were facing death. Now we're facing life all over again. It's unbelievable."

--------

Brennan adjusted the phone, pinching it between her right shoulder and cheek and tucking her hair behind her ear. "Angela, we're only going to be in Philadelphia until the end of the week."

"Jeez, Bren," Angela said as she lay on her bed. "What's that? Three, four days?"

"Just until Saturday. I promised Booth I would help him."

Angela laughed.

"Why did you laugh?"

"Sweetie, it's just—Normally in these situations, a man would ask a woman to stay so she could provide a bit of maternal insight, but sweetie, no offense, but I think Booth has more maternal insight than you."

"I know that you're right, but for some reason I feel really offended right now." Brennan sat on the edge of the bed, then lay back, unconsciously mimicking her friend's posture.

"Sorry, sweetie, but the truth hurts."

"Listen, Angela, I should go. Jared's about to leave for work and I'm sure Tanya and Booth will need me. Maybe I can make myself useful by folding laundry or something."

"Alright. I love you, Bren."

"Bye, Ange." Brennan turned off her cell phone and lay quietly on the bed for a while before leaving the spare bedroom.

Jared was putting on his jacket and talking to Booth in hurried tones, "Alright, Tanya pumped some. There's directions for warming the milk. Whatever you do, don't put it in the microwave. Something about killing the good stuff—Anyway, diapers are in the nursery, there's some on the coffee table. I'd like for Tanya to get some rest for maybe an hour more. Thanks, Seeley—Tempe," he acknowledged her, noticing her in the doorway. "Thanks, guys."

"Anytime, Jared," Booth said, closing the door behind Jared.

"Where's Caleb?" Brennan asked. Just as the words escaped her lips, cries from the nursery erupted.

Booth grinned and ran to the next room. He came back holding the little newborn boy in his arms. "If you just bounce them a little…" He patted Caleb's tiny bottom and the boy began to calm himself.

"Does… does he need a bottle?" Brennan asked.

"Maybe," Booth said.

Brennan laughed and went to the refrigerator where a feeding schedule was taped. "I think that he needs a bottle," she murmured, sliding her finger along the line. "What time is it anyway?"

Booth glanced at his watch. "Five."

"Then that's what he needs."

"Think you can handle that, Bones?"

"What? Me? Why not you? You've gone through Parker's infancy. Why would I know any more than you?"

"Bones, just make a bottle like you made Andy a bottle."

"He was on formula. I've never dealt with pumped breast milk before."

Booth walked over. "Here, take Caleb."

"W… what?"

"Just take him, Bones."

"He's… he's just so little. I know it's irrational, but what if I hurt him or drop him?"

"Bones, just make sure you have him. You'll be OK. I'm right here," he said, passing Caleb into Brennan's hands. "Bones, he's only three days old, you have to support his neck." With that, he nestled Caleb into the crook of Brennan's arm.

After a second, she grew more comfortable with having such a tiny human in her arms and she relaxed. "He's really sweet, isn't he?"

Booth smoothed Caleb's dark hair with his hand, a hand that looked enormous compared to the baby's little head. "Yeah, he is."

"How about that bottle, Booth?"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah…" He turned around and read the directions on the refrigerator. "Looks like the bottle warmer should do the trick." He opened the refrigerator and took out the bottle, then put that into the bottle warmer. "Two minutes. That's not bad. I remember warming Parker's bottles and it took forever."

Brennan adjusted Caleb, putting him against her shoulder and rubbing his back. "So he wasn't breastfed? Or was it pumped? Or perhaps he was supplemented with one or the other?"

"Bones… why do you have to know this stuff?"

"You don't have to be so defensive, Booth. I only asked because I didn't know you during that time of your life. I just want to know more about you." She smiled at him, letting him know that she wasn't angry.

He leaned against the counter and pulled her closer by her hips. "You look really cute doing the whole Mommy thing, Bones."

She tiled her head a bit, "Actually it's the Baby Sitter thing… technically."

"You know what I mean. It's attractive. You being all maternal and womanly. I like it."

She looked down at the baby. "Do you think it's OK that he's sleeping so much?"

"He's a newborn. Newborns sleep constantly. He's OK. What's important is that he's making wet diapers and he's eating every… what?... three to four hours or so. It's been a while, but I think I remember Parker doing this. Of course, I didn't have him over night until he was over a month old."

"You didn't see him when he was this little?"

"I _saw _him, but I just didn't--It's just one of those things… I try to forget about it. Otherwise I start to realize how much I've missed out on." He reached out and rubbed Caleb's back.

"Do you want to hold him?" Brennan asked.

"Nah."

She ignored his answer and put Caleb into his arms. The alarm went off for the warmer. She picked up the bottle, gave it a shake and walked over to where Booth and Caleb were. She gave him the bottle and he drank it hungrily.

They kissed with the little infant between them.

Then they both looked down. "I want this with you, Bones. This—these memories."

"I know," she replied.

"No… you don't know. I haven't been entirely honest with you. I really missed out with Parker, Bones. I wanted to make it right, but it wasn't. Sometimes I wish that—Sometimes I think it was my fault and I should have at least stayed around to get those memories…"

"Do you only want this because of what happened with you and Rebecca?"

"No, Bones. That's not even close. I can never get back what I lost with Parker, Bones. Never. And I'll blame myself every day for that."

"You shouldn't, Booth."

"I do, though. I can't help it." He reached out and touched her face tenderly. "But I want this with you because I love you and if I'm going to go through this journey again… I want it to be with you. I just can't imagine anyone else. And I'm sorry…"

"Why?"

"I'm just sorry that I didn't find you first."

She shook her head. "Then you wouldn't have Parker."

He smiled. "Yeah, you make a point. Hey… I have a bit of a surprise for you later."

She smiled back at him, "I have a surprise for you, too, actually."

"Yeah?"

She nodded then looked down. "Look at that, he drank the whole bottle!"

"Hey, look at that!" He lifted the baby in the air, keeping his head upright with this forefingers and his thumbs under his armpits, "Hey, Bruiser! Bruiser, Bruiser, Bruiser, Bruiser! Six-ten at birth, but six-ten on the field. Our little guy's gonna be a linebacker after all, Bones!" They walked into the living room where they sat on the couch.

Brennan took Caleb from Booth's arms and sat him up, resting his back against her bent knees, her feet on the coffee table. "Is Uncle Seeley teasing you?"

Booth slid closer to Brennan and took Caleb's little fists between his fingers and made the little newborn punch while he sang the theme song from Rocky.

"What are you singing, Booth?"

"Eye of the Tiger, Bones! Getting Strongerrrrrrrrr! Duh! Duh-duh-DUH!" He smiled at her, "I'll have to show that to you tomorrow."

"I'm confused… show me what?"

"Philadelphia Museum of Art. Classic Rocky, Bones."

"You always accuse me of speaking another language. Sometimes I can hardly understand you."

"It's pop-culture, Bones. Rocky Balboa's running up the steps. The music's all loud in the background: Duh! Duh, duh, DUH! Dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! DUH!" He took Caleb's fists and punched at the air. "It's classic, Bones. Seriously. We're getting you some cable when we get back to DC."

"So I can rot my brain with hours of mind-numbing television viewing?"

"Bones, you're a genius. You can spare a few brain cells for the sake of learning a thing or two about pop-culture."

"Can't you just buy me a book?"

"That's the cheap way of doing things, Bones."

"Seeley?" The call came from the bedroom.

Booth took Caleb into his hands again. "Sounds like Mommy's calling a certain someone. You know what, Bones? I bet she found out about him sneaking out to see that girl again."

"What girl?"

"Play along, Bones." They stood up.

"Oh. I get it. You're making jokes based upon the premise that Caleb is in fact a teenager in an infant's body and participating in common adolescent rebellious behaviors."

Booth shook his head, "You just have a way with spoiling my fun. Unless we're naked. In which case, it's the opposite case." He winked at her as they walked into the bedroom.

* * *

_Some loving fluffiness... And I think the next chapter might be a little...erm, naughty... but don't hold me to that. Or do. I dunno. lol...  
_

_I wrote a 1 Shot called "Rorschach". There's a link on my profile. It's a Sweets/Brennan/Booth session and pretty amusing, might I add. I think that a lot of you already have commented and I thank you all very much for your comments on that and on this story! I appreciate everything, guys! Thanks! :D  
_

* * *


	36. Chapter 36

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXVI**

He stretched and switched positions on the mattress, draping his arms over what he thought would be Brennan. Instead, he found an empty bed and slightly warm sheets.

He turned his head, "Bones?" He scanned the room, then put his feet to the carpet. His toes sunk into the thick carpeting and he walked toward the bedroom door and looked out into the living room. Nothing.

He walked into the nursery and pushed the door open slowly.

And there she was. She sat in the rocking chair and pushed off on her right foot, rocking the chair slowly. A creaking noise brought her eyes to Booth's. She stood and put Caleb in his crib and walked out of the room.

"I... I heard Tanya getting up to nurse Caleb. After she finished, I offered to take him to the nursery." She leaned against the wall and looked down at the floor, then she looked back up and crossed her arms. "She's still in a lot of pain, so--" She opened her mouth to continue the sentence, but instead, she closed it once again. "Why are you up, Booth?"

Booth knew her better than that. He took a few more steps and drew her into his arms. She rest her cheek on his bare chest, closed her eyes, and breathed in his familiar scent. "Are you OK, Bones?"

She nodded. "I think... that we should talk."

The seriousness in her voice made him pull back and look into her eyes. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head wordlessly. "Perhaps you should sit for this."

The words sunk deep into his stomach. "No," he whispered. "I'm OK."

She put her fingers, cold from anxiety, to her neck, then crossed her arms again, an unconscious defense mechanism. "I'm not who I seem to be, Booth. I've always had this shield and I have secrets--" She breathed deeply. "Things that Angela doesn't even know."

"Bones, I will love you no matter what."

"I have a feeling that this won't change the way you _see _me, but it might change your--your ideals--or it may threaten to change your definition of Happily Ever After... And for that I'm sorry." She measured his reaction to this for a second, then said, "I don't know why, but some people believe that sitting when you are given bad news is the best way to receive it. My assumption is that it may have to do with fainting spells, but I'm terrible at interpreting such things sometimes, so you may still want to sit."

Booth took a seat on the arm of the couch, "Is this the surprise you were wanting to give me?"

She smiled weakly, "Somewhat. The truth is, there is good news and there is bad news as well, which must go hand-in-hand with it. It's a convoluted surprise, I realize, but-- I never thought I would have to share this with someone, so I never imagined myself in this position." The tension in her body was causing her to shake ever so slightly.

Booth reached out for her, but she stepped back.

"You may not be so sympathetic when I'm done--I don't know, may be, but it could go either way... Do you want the good news first or the bad news first? If I give you the good news first, then that could lighten the blow of the bad news. However, if I give you the bad news first, then the good news might cushion the blow. Well, which is it?"

Booth crossed his arms and stretched his bare feet out in front of him, crossing his ankles. "You aren't cheating on me, are you?" He laughed nervously.

"Of course not. I haven't gotten bored of you in five years, that should mean _something _as far as our sustaining power goes."

"OK, Bones. How about... good news first."

"OK," she nodded. "Although now I wish you'd chosen the other."

"Bones--"

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous."

"It's OK. Just--lay it on me."

"Good news... OK..." Suddenly she was wishing for a glass of water. Visions of her first lecture at Northwestern University slid through her mind. Cotton mouth. "I'm ready. I'm ready to begin--" the words were harder to get out than she had imagined, "to begin--" She looked Booth seriously in the eye, hoping he would see through her scientific shell and read the undercurrent of truth, "procreating, reproduction--with you."

Booth grinned, "You wanna have a baby with me? Bones, I don't see any bad news in there."

"Yet," she cut him off. "I'm not even finished, Booth. And this is the worst part." She closed her eyes, "I think that I may have raised your hopes--I should have given you the bad news first..." She reopened them and the hope and joy in his eyes made this althemore terrible and difficult. She took a seat on the couch and put her hands defeatedly over her face. Booth slid down and sat beside her. Finally, she looked over at him. "When I was nineteen, I started to have a lot of pain. I didn't have any money. No family. No contacts, so I just took a lot of Ibuprofen and that hardly dulled the pain..." Her face cracked and she hid the pain, tucked it away once again. Then she looked back at Booth. "I couldn't see a doctor and I didn't have time, anyhow. I was a full time student--going to school on scholarships and thousands in loans. When I got my first job in a lab, I was twenty-six and I finally saw a doctor--I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." He reached over and rubbed her back. "They discovered it was endometriosis--something I had suspected by way of independent research. What I'm trying to say is--It may not be possible to have a child, to become pregnant and carry out a pregnancy. It's true that it's _possible _to become pregnant, but it's also true that I may _not_--" She made a frustrated gesture with her hand, recrossed her arms and took a few steps away from the couch. She looked back at Booth who was now chuckling a little sardonically and shaking his head. In her defense, she said, "I suppose it was just easier to convince myself that I didn't want something that I knew I couldn't have."

Booth stood up from the couch. He was now smiling and he took her hands in his and kissed her. "I don't care about all of that--"

"Yes you do."

She saw through him just as much as he saw through her, "Yeah... I do," he admitted. "But if that's not in the cards, Bones, then... it's not in the cards. I'm just really glad that we're together... I couldn't ask for more. Nothing more than your company, your friendship, your love. I'm already luckier than most men."

"You know how I feel about _luck_." She looked down at his hands.

"Then, I'm blessed. You can't measure blessings in a beaker, Bones... but I'm pretty sure that my beaker overfloweth and maketh the teacher pissed."

She rolled her eyes and gave him a bit of a shove. He stumbled back a bit, then grabbed her and spun her back onto the couch and began to kiss her ear lobe. He made it down her neck and half way across her chin before she pushed him off again, "Jared's going to be back from work soon."

"Yeah... that would suck if he caught us--you naked and straddling me... _Awkwaaaaaaaaaaaard_." He got up from the couch and picked her up, lifting her from where she lay. He carried her to the bedroom where he practically threw her onto the bed.

She grabbed a pillow and chucked it at him. He dodged it. "This isn't the _Paleolith_, Booth! You can't just throw me over your shoulder whenever you want to assert your dominance. We're not Neanderthals."

Booth made a few monkey-like grunts as he shed his boxers and jumped onto the bed. "I don't know about that, Bones."

He kissed her, then let his tongue trail along her neck and then down... He pulled her shirt off, then continued to her breasts. She pushed him off a bit, "Wait, didn't you have a surprise?"

"That's for later, Bones." He began to kiss her again, this time working toward her navel.

She pushed him off again, "Are you upset with me?"

He shook his head, "You can't be that bad at reading signals, Bones. Do I _look _upset?"

"Of course not."

"OK, then. Now be quiet so I can make love to you."

She shrugged, "You make such a good argument."

"Just what I thought." He kissed her lips. "_I_ love _you_, Bones. Nothing can change that."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, too."

He grinned, "Enough talk."

He disappeared beneath the sheets and did something that created a shriek of laughter from Brennan. He quickly reappeared and put his hand to her mouth, "Shhh... Damn you're noisy during sex, Bones." He kissed her deeply, letting his hands slide along her body and between her thighs, then behind her back. He pulled her tightly against him. She let out a small gasp as she felt him enter.

"...OK?"

She nodded. She was more than just OK.

He kissed her, "Love you."

When the sun began to break through the curtains, Booth was sound asleep and didn't feel Brennan get out of bed and take a shower.

He walked through the Medico-Legal lab. He walked onto the platform where Brennan was nowhere to be seen. He then began to walk to her office and it seemed that no matter where he went, he was felt like he was being watched.

He spun around on his heels and nearly walked straight into a little girl. Eight. Blue-green eyes. Dark hair.

"Uh... have you seen Dr. Brennan?" The presence of a child in the lab was not as odd as it ought to have been.

The little girl grabbed Booth's forefinger and began to lead him in another direction, up the staircase. "She's upstairs," the child stated.

At the top of the steps, Booth knelt. It had occurred to him in that two-second window that this little girl must belong to someone. "What's your name?"

"Mmmmumanum," the little girl muttered almost inaudibly.

Booth ran his hand over his jaw, "And who's your mom? Or your dad?"

The little girl rolled her eyes, climbed onto the railing and began to balance on it, walking slowly across it like a highwire. "Did you know that the physics of highwire balancing requires an even and low center of gravity combined with the ability to move forward at a constant speed--I'm not sure what the whole wordage of the stuff is, but that's what I've heard..."

Booth reached up his hand to help the girl balance. She let her hand hover just millimeters from his. "Your mom. Who is she?"

The little girl sat on the rail. "My mom wanted to name me after a scientist and my dad wanted to name me after a Flyers goalie. So they combined it. The result is atrocious, but I suppose that's what nicknames are for."

The little girl stood once again.

"Who are your parents?"

"Booth!" She spread her arms. "Booth! Booth!" And with that, she fell backward toward the platform. Booth swiped at her and tried to grab her.

"Booth!"

He opened his eyes, his heart was still beating in his ears.

Brennan walked over, drying her hair with a towel. "What were you dreaming about?"

He shook his head, "Nothing."

A knock at the door echoed to which Brennan said, "Come in."

Jared poked his head in, "Hey, guys..."

"Someone remembered to knock," Booth said.

Jared just laughed and entered the room with Caleb on his shoulder, "Tanya and the baby have appointments today, so we'll be gone most of the day. Then we're swinging by the Lopez's... they have this big Mexican celebration thingy... so..."

Booth nodded. "Go. I think Bones and I can take care of each other."

Jared winked and smiled exaggeratedly, "Of course you can."

Brennan threw her towel at Jared's feet. He shielded the baby, although he was obviously too far from the towel to be hurt, "There's a baby present, Auntie Tempe! You're sick.... just sick. You disgust me." Then he laughed. "Oh, here's the key," he tossed it at Booth who caught it and slapped it to the night stand. "I'll just leave you two to your premarital sex."

Booth rolled his eyes, then got out of bed and put on his boxers. "What time is it?"

"Eleven-thirty. Why?"

"Shit," he cursed as he ran into the bathroom and started the shower. "We've gotta get out of here in the next ten minutes."

She walked into the bathroom and pulled back the curtain, "Where are we going?"

He smiled at her, "Perv."

"I'm not being perverted. You don't think that I can look on your body without being sexually stimulated? You have quite the ego."

He grabbed her arm and looped his fingers under the belt of her robe. It slid to the tile. "Nope. As anthropological as you are, Bones, you're still a woman." Then he kissed her and pulled her into the shower.

* * *

_Sorry for the wait! Thanks again for all of your reviews! There's a bit of a surprise in the next chapter...  
_

* * *


	37. Chapter 37

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXVII**

"This is officially your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yeah... if you weren't so gorgeous, then we wouldn't be rushing." Booth got out of the SUV and met Brennan on the sidewalk. He grabbed her hand and led her through sight-seers and a light mid-week crowd that mainly consisted of nannies and mothers.

"Where are we going?"

"Don't you know the strict definition of a surprise, Bones?"

"Booth, don't tease. Just tell me why we're here."

They stopped in line with a small amount of people. After they walked up a ramp, a man behind a counter waved them forward, "How many?"

"Two adults."

"Seventeen-fifty."

Booth slid his credit card through the open hole and received his tickets, then they walked up a ramp and onto the deck of the Riverlink Ferry.

"Doesn't this only connect to Camden?" Brennan asked.

"Bones. It's a surprise, OK? Just give it up."

"I'm not fond of surprises. I hate the idea of dealing with something that's unpredictable."

"I understand." They walked to the head of the ferry and ten minutes later, the ferry began to set sail, so to speak, into the Delaware River.

She walked to a bench and took a seat. Booth sat beside her, "Still thinking about baby stuff?"

She shook her head, "No." She looked up at him, "What about you? Are you thinking about baby stuff, too?"

He shook his head, "Not really." He put his hands in his pockets and ran his thumb across a velvet box that had been there for going on three months.

"What exactly is there in Camden that requires a ferry ride?" The wind whipped up off from the river and blew Brennan's hair in her face.

Booth noticed her shiver and removed his jacket, draping over her shoulders, "You should've grabbed your coat."

"It's not like I thought we would be riding on a ferry, Booth."

"Yeah, but it's March, Bones."

She sighed and sank into his arm that he had draped around her shoulder. They watched a young mother walk to the front of the ferry. In her arms was a toddler that was probably around two years old. She lifted the girl a little higher and pointed to a bird that circled in the air. Booth unwound his arm and intertwined his fingers with Brennan's. "We're already a family, Bones."

She nodded, rested her chin on her hand, and looked over at Booth, "I know, Booth."

He leaned close and kissed her.

The young mother turned toward a sound coming from the back of the ship. At first her eyes settled on the couple behind her, but when she realized that it wasn't them, she began to walk toward the back. Booth's eyes met with the woman's brown eyes for a moment and the woman asked, "Did you guys hear that?"

Booth looked back in the direction she was looking, "Hear what?"

She shook her head, "Probably my imagination." Then she looked at her baby, "Wanna go inside, Keke? Your little nose is all pink. It looks like a strawberry." She nibbled at the nose and the toddler laughed.

The woman walked out of sight. Booth turned toward Brennan, "Wanna go inside?"

She shook her head, "No, but I wouldn't mind walking around."

Booth stood and took Brennan's hand then they began to walk around the ship.

"Are you going to tell me or are you just going to torture me?"

Booth laughed and wrapped his hand around Brennan's waist, "Torture," he whispered in her ear.

The planks beneath their feet began to vibrate lightly. The vibrations hit a staccato and voices grew louder.

Over the loud speaker, a man's voice spoke, "Please remain calm. We are experiencing _minor _engine trouble. Please remain in your seats until the ferry has docked. Please remain calm."

A second later, people began to run along the deck as the ferry stalled in the middle of the river. A large man who tipped the scales at over three hundred and fifty pounds hurdled his way through the crowd, knocking Brennan to the ground as they continued to trample over her, stepping on her arms and torso without a second thought. Booth reached into the torrent of bodies and yanked Brennan to her feet and against the wall where he stood. "You OK?"

Brennan grabbed her arm with her right hand, "I think my radius is broken."

"What the hell is going on here?"

Life boats were being lowered and frenzied passengers threw their bodies onto the boats.

"Booth, something tells me this isn't just engine trouble."

Booth nodded, "You stole the words from my mouth, Bones. Stay here." He pushed through people and stropped a man in a blue-gray uniform. "What's happening?"

"It's a bomb, man. Blew a hole the size of a Buick in the hull. This sucker's going down. Terrorists, dude. You better find a boat and get the f-ck off this ferry or you're fish food."

"Please remain calm," the loud speaker reminded the crowd. "Please go back to your seats."

The man made a "Pshh" sound and climbed into a boat.

Booth pushed back through the crowd, thankful for his imposing stature.

"What's going on?" Brennan asked.

"Not sure yet. It's basic crowd mentality out there. Everyone thinks it's a bomb."

"The ferry is _sinking_?"

"If it isn't already, it will with people acting like this."

A woman a few inches away was crying frantically and holding up a three year old boy, "Save my son! Please! Please! Save my baby!"

A man who was directly in front of her turned around and growled, "Shut the f-ck up, lady. Unless you're holding up the next Bach, zip it."

"Who the hell are you to tell me that my boy can't live? He's a child!"

The man snapped his closed fist out and sanguine fluid began to gush from her right nostril. She pressed a shaking hand to her nose and the man disappeared through the crowd.

"Booth, your cell is ringing."

He couldn't hear the tone above the crowd. He pressed the phone against his ear, "Booth!"

"Special Agent Booth, aren't you in Philadelphia?" Cullen asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"We just got word of a bomb on a Riverlink Ferry crossing into Jersey. How soon can you get to the terminal?"

A hysterical woman felt her knees, "I don't wanna die! Oh, G-d! No! Please, G-d! Oh, G-d!"

"Sooner than you think, Sir."

A man pressed past, knocking the cell phone from Booth's hand. The phone slid across the deck, beneath the railings, and into the river.

Booth grabbed Brennan's hand, "That one has our name on it, Bones." He pulled her toward the life boat. People filled it quickly. Before they had a chance to get in the boat, the woman that was at the stern with her daughter appeared beside them. The little girl was crying from the excitement.

"Take our spot," Booth said. He helped the woman into the boat and they were lowered into the water.

"Please remain calm. This isn't the Titanic, there are enough life boats for everyone. Authorities are on their way," the loud speaker soothed.

The crowd was beginning to disperse into the boats that were being lowered safely into the water.

For a moment, the world froze for Booth. He looked around at the disorganization of the situation and he shook his head. He walked out and held out his badge, "Everyone stay calm. FBI."

Questions began to be shouted at him, "Who did this?" "Is it Al-Qaida?"

"I sincerely doubt it's Al-Qaida. Please stay calm. I'm going to direct you each into a boat so we can get out of here alive." He began to separate people, getting them to stand in front of different boats. After the last boat was set into the water, Booth grabbed Brennan's hand, "This is our boat, Bones." They got into the boat and it was lowered into the river.

"Wait!" A man ran along the deck which was tipping at an odd angle. "Wait for me!"

Booth stood up, "Wait!"

The man didn't heed to his warnings. He jumped into the boat feet first. When his feet collided, the whole vessel gave under his weight, then flipped upside down.

Beneath the water, Booth opened his eyes and all that was visible was a tangle of limbs and air bubbles. His face broke the surface of the water. "Bones!" He looked around and didn't see her. "Bones!"

He went beneath the surface of the icy river water and he was thankful that nobody on his boat was under twenty. There was no way an infant would survive for long in this water.

His hand happened to brush against his trousers and he realized the absence of a familiar square box. He swished about and spotted the box just inches below his feet, gently drifting to the bottom of the river. He dove head first, digging deeper into the water, but no matter what, it seemed that the box was out of his reach.

The black box sunk into the murky water, disappearing into the blackness of the river bottom. His head began to thud under the pressure and his lungs began to ache for air. Booth swam to the surface and instead of sucking in a breath, he blurted, "F-ck!"

Sirens came from the distance and he saw the River Patrol approach with their blue and white lights flashing.

From beginning to end, the whole event only lasted around ten minutes. And he still couldn't see Brennan. All around him were bobbing heads and people shouting for help.

The ferry tipped at an even greater angle and began to screech loudly. Something was odd about it and signaled an alarm in Booth's brain, "Swim away!"

He took two strokes before flames shot out from the ferry. He dipped below the surface just as the fire kissed the water just above his head.

* * *

_Muwahaha...  
_

* * *


	38. Chapter 38

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXVIII**

Beneath the water's surface, Booth saw the legs and the air bubbles from people thrashing about. The dulled cacophony of screams and shouts reached his ears. It was a bedlam. He dragged himself again to the surface and blew water from his airway. "Bones!" Using his arms and legs, he turned in a circle and scanned the crowd of bodies. A few were burned, but only slightly. Most were turned toward the River Patrol boats and were shouting or waving.

"Temperance!" None of the faces turned toward him. Panic set in. For the first time, he was truly afraid. "Temperance! Bones! Oh, G-d, Bones! TEMPERANCE!"

He ducked beneath the water once again and opened his eyes in the murky water, praying for a glimpse of a limp body, an arm, a face, a hand, a leg--anything.

He burst out of the water, "Bones!" He began to swim through the crowd of bodies, scanning faces, checking for a familiar face.

"Over there!" A River Patrolman shouted to his colleague, pointing into the water. Booth followed the direction in which the man pointed. In the river, he saw a body floating face down several hundred feet off.

With all of his might, he swam toward the body. With every stroke, he felt the energy drain from his body. Swimming that distance took a hundred years. when he reached the body, he turned the woman over. Steely blue eyes, glazed over and full of death stared back at him. Her face was lifeless and pale. The strange duality of relief and frustration washed over him. It wasn't her. But it was somebody's Bones. Somebody's wife, girlfriend, mother, lover, friend...

A patrolman threw a rope in. Booth wrapped it around the woman's torso and she was pulled from the water. A hand was offered and Booth pulled himself into the boat. "FBI," Booth said to the man. "My badge is somewhere... in there," he nodded at the river.

A helicopter _fwop-fwop-fwopped_ overhead and another patrol boat came up and began to help people out of the water.

"This is a goddamn disaster," a man with white hair and an orange life vest said.

Booth walked to the edge and began to look out over the people. So many faces, and not one of them was familiar to him. His heart sank. And he felt like a fool for waiting five years to tell Brennan how he felt about her.

A hundred heads, wet and matted bobbed in the river. Orange vests and floats were being tossed to survivors.

Another patrol boat with lights flashing overhead drove to the edge of the group and began to throw life vests into the river. Two of the patrolmen on the deck began to pull people out of the water.

Booth watched and studied each face as they were dragged from the icy waters. Was it her? Where was she? Was she gone? How did he lose her so quickly? It was his fault no matter how he spelled it. He blinked away tears and watched as one by one people were pulled from the river.

A hand.

A firm hold.

And it was her.

A young patrolman grabbed onto Brennan's hand and pulled her from the water. She was hoisted into the boat and Booth felt his heart begin to beat again.

"Bones! Temperance!!!" In a swift motion, Booth removed his shoes and shirt, then dove into the river head-first.

Brennan stood on the deck, dumb-founded and shocked at what she had just seen. It didn't take a genius to see that it wasn't a very logical thing to jump into the Delaware in March. On any day, for that matter, considering the issues with pollution.

"Booth!" Brennan shrugged off a life vest that was put over her shoulders.

Half way across the stretch, Booth slowed to a painful gate and began to dip beneath the surface. "Booth!" Brennan grabbed the life vest and put it on, then grabbed another and jumped feet-first into the river before the patrolman could stop her.

When she reached him, he was barely treading water. "Put this on," she told him, her mouth dipping beneath the water as waves splashed against them.

"Bones... why'd you...?"

"Why did _you _jump into the river? That wasn't very logical, Booth." The water lapped at their faces.

Booth slung his arm over the orange vest. "Love isn't logical, Bones..."

"You could have killed yourself. Then what? I can't exactly go find myself another Booth--believe me, I've tried." She laughed, but exhaustion was beginning to set in and she gasped for air between phrases.

"I thought I lost you, Bones." His teeth began to chatter.

"I... love you," her teeth chattered, too.

"I did lose something, though--"

"I'm fine, Booth."

"No... I was going to take you dancing today--"

"Guess we got our exercise."

"Bones... I lost your engagement ring," Booth said.

Brennan only looked at him and shivered. Then, she whispered, "What?"

"I had it in my pocket and now it's at the bottom of the Delaware." Water splashed against his face. "I love you, Bones. And when I thought I lost you, I can't even begin to explain how scared I was or how much it hurt to know that you were-- Bones, I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"What?"

"It was nice, Bones. Five little diamonds--one for each year. I just wish I could put it on your finger."

"What?" She said, even weaker than before.

"I want you to be my wife--I want to be your husband. Because we're meant for each other. And I can't imagine living this life without you in it. Air isn't worth breathing if you're not sharing it with me. Please say yes, Bones. I can't bear to lose you twice in one day."

Brennan was quiet for what seemed like forever. They were the last two in the river and a patrol boat rumbled up to them. An officer threw a life ring in the water. "Grab the ring!" The officer shouted. "Take the ring!"

Brennan didn't know whether she was shaking from adrenaline, coldness, or from what Booth said. "I--don't know, Booth." She took the ring and put it over her head. The patrolman pulled her out of the water and wrapped a wool blanket around her shoulders. The ring was then tossed out to Booth. He hesitated in taking it. He looked up and saw Brennan with her arms wrapped around her torso, holding the blanket tight around herself, and avoiding his gaze.

The lyrics to Bon Jovi's Diamond Ring began to play through Booth's head. And he remembered putting that song on Brennan's phone. What did she truly want? Did she want to take the ring? Should he respect that or move on?

Brennan walked to the edge of the boat and looked down at Booth. "Take the ring, Booth."

Booth put it over his head and he was pulled to the deck.

* * *

_What do you think? Give me some looooooooooooove.  
_

* * *


	39. Chapter 39

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXIX**

Booth came home late to an empty apartment. He searched the usual rooms for his girlfriend, but she was nowhere to be found. It didn't occur to him at first that something was off, or wrong. He loosened his tie and walked to the bathroom. The door was locked. "You in there?" He asked.

"Just go away, Seeley."

Great. She was on one of _those _moods. "Just let me in. Don't make me break down the door."

"Just go the f-ck away!" The words crumbled into pitiful sobs.

Booth rattled the door handle. "I'm not going away until you tell me what's going on." He leaned his forehead against the door, his hand still on the handle.

"I want my space. Go away."

"Is it because of what happened last night? People fight, Rebecca. I don't know what else to tell ya."

The door opened and Rebecca's face peered out. Black rivers of mascara streaked her cheeks. "It's not because of what happened. I'm pregnant. There!"

"Oh, Jesus, Beck." Booth pushed the door open the rest of the way and pulled her into his arms. He rested his chin on her head and rubbed her back. "How far?"

She shrugged and didn't say a thing.

Booth's childhood flashed before his eyes. Angry parents. Divorce. A broken childhood. A shattered home. "Marry me, Rebecca."

She pulled away sharply. "What the hell, Seeley?" She wiped a tear away roughly.

That was not the reaction he had expected. He rubbed her arms to sooth her, "I want to do the right thing by you. I love you, Rebecca. I love you and I always will. I'm not my father and--"

"Dammit, Seeley," Rebecca exited the bathroom and turned around in the living room. "Last night we were tearing each other's throats out and now you want to walk down the aisle with me, swear to G-d and your family that we'll be faithful and love each other forever..."

"Beck, you can still go to school if that's what you're worried about."

"I know that, Seeley. And I will. My dad won't hesitate in paying for that, but that's not the point. The point is-- I don't think I can..." She crossed her arms. "I'm just totally freaked out by this. A baby is a huge thing and now you're trying to make another huge thing out of this--" She ran a hand through her long blond hair and recrossed her arms.

"I just want to do the right thing. You don't have to get all bent out of shape."

"I... don't think it's a good idea. Let's just deal with the baby thing for now and revisit the marriage thing in a few months." Her eyes studied the ground, then bounced back up to his eyes.

"That's... not exactly what I wanted you to say."

"What did you expect, Seeley? For me to jump into your arms and proclaim my undying love? Last night I told you that I didn't want to see you any more and in return, you told me that I was a bitch. That doesn't exactly spell Romantic Comedy, now does it?"

"Life isn't a TV script, Beck. This is real life. Right here. You, me, and our baby."

"I didn't tell you about the baby so you could propose marriage to me, Seeley. I don't believe in abortion, so I thought it was the right thing-- I don't want a diamond ring and a picket fence out of this, Seeley. I want support. That's all I ask."

The tone of her voice seemed so final that Booth couldn't help but to ask, "That's all... you ask?"

"That's all, Seeley. I don't want anything more out of you. And don't act like it's a surprise. It's been a long time coming."

Booth nodded and laughed humorlessly, "Yeah..." He walked past her and into the bedroom where he began to put shirts and jeans into an overnight bag. "You're right, Rebecca. It's been a long time coming. Six weeks to be exact. Tell Chad I said hi for me."

"That's been over for over a month. Don't throw that in my face."

Booth zipped the bag and walked up to her, within a millimeter of her face. She faltered and took a step back. He stepped closer, pinning her against the wall. She turned her face to the ground. "It may be over, Beck... But that was the first sign that you really didn't love me."

Her eyes rose again. "I didn't say I don't love you."

"Say it then. Say, 'I love you, Seeley.' _Say it_," he growled.

Seconds passed before she whispered. "Don't forget your coat."

He passed by her and punched a hole in the wall on his way out.

He stopped at the door and looked back at her. "I love you. It should be that easy, but obviously it isn't."

She shook her head, "Wake up, Seeley."

"What?"

"Wake up."

Booth's eyes opened and he found himself where he had laid down.

"Seeley," Cam laughed. "Jeez, I thought I'd have to hit you with a mallet."

"A mallet?" Booth sat up.

"You would be surprised at how many weapons one can find in a Medical Examiner's office."

"Why are you here?" Booth squinted at his watch, then looked around at the busy waiting room at the Philadelphia M.E.'s building.

"Dr. Brennan asked for assistance. I decided to take Mr. Bray with me. Of course Hodgins is all over that hull like a Kabuki on... whatever that makeup Kabukis wear is called."

Booth sat up and began to straighten and re-tie his tie.

"How about Angela?"

"Going over statements with Agent Saunders, but so far nothing new. Nobody saw anybody in specific. Four bodies, two IDed, no faces." She removed her coat and sat next to Booth. "How long have you been here?"

"The whole time, Cam. The whole damn time." Booth ran a hand through messy, un-gelled hair.

"Wow."

He looked at her questioningly.

"I just thought... you dodged death, saved the princess and got to see something blow up. It's a guy's dream. I'm surprised you're not more... _peachy_."

Booth looked through the glass windows and watched as Brennan, Bray, and a few FBI techs examined a body. "Who were the two who were IDed?"

"Uh... A female, 23, Amelia Komning and a male, 38 named Aaron Bishop. Bishop was working in the engine room at the time of the explosion. The unidentified were also men, but they weren't on the roster. They were either stowaways or terrorists of some sort."

Booth nodded. "Good to know..."

"What's going on, Booth?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Funny. Now spill the beans."

"I... screwed up."

"With Dr. Brennan?"

Booth looked up, "How'd you get there so fast?"

She shrugged, "I'm a woman. I can recognize that 'I pissed the wife off' look."

Booth was quiet and looked down at the ground, resting his elbows on his knees. "I asked her to marry me."

"Woah," Cam replied. "That's huge. Why was it a screw up?"

He leaned back in the couch and crossed his arms, "You know Bones, Cam. Wouldn't touch an engagement ring with a ten foot pole."

"Then why'd you ask?"

"Because I... needed to."

Cam nodded. "I see."

"I told her I would ask some day..."

"How'd she react?"

Booth nodded at the window. "The way she usually does. With work." He yawned.

Cam bumped against his shoulder, "You know... I could do the friend thing and talk to Brennan for you."

Booth shook his head and grinned at her, "Nah. I wouldn't want you to do that."

"What? Do you honestly think I would say, 'You should marry Booth because I talked to him blah, blah, blah.' You know I'd be more subtle than that."

Booth shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Cam. We'll work it out."

Wendell knocked on the window which brought their attention up.

"Looks like I'm needed," Cam said, standing. "You wanna come in and look at the gore? I once heard Dr. Brennan compare burnt flesh to roast pork, but I think it's more like a singed hot dog."

Booth shook his head, "I'm not really needed. The CTD is taking over the case once Bones is done, so..."

"You're unofficially on the case then?"

Booth nodded. "Officially unofficial."

"Gotta love politics," Cam said as she pulled on her gloves and opened the door with her back. "I'm always around if you need a shoulder, Seeley."

Booth sighed and stood up and propped the door open, "Bones, I'm going to the hotel."

She looked up and nodded, "OK." Then she turned to Wendell, "The bone burn on the femurs--"

Booth closed the door and walked through the M.E.'s office and into the street.

After three hours of mind-numbing television and live coverage of the ferry explosion, Booth pulled himself off from the couch and turned on the faucet. He let the water run until steam began to fill the bathroom, then he unclothed himself and stepped into the hot shower. The steam billowed and rolled around his naked body. The day before had been so long that his head was beginning to ache with tension.

Making love to Brennan, the ferry, the icy water, explosion, short hospital stay... all was headed off by Brennan ignoring him and diving head-first into death and cadavers. When was he ever going to learn that Brennan didn't change? She didn't put her head into neutral, she didn't put her heart into drive, she didn't fall in love, she did not get married and have children. Maybe he was in love with what she could have been.

And he knew what he had to do.

He had to forget about those things. Forget about marriage and diamond rings and picket fences. Unfortunately for him, he was attracted to women who did not want those things. Rebecca, Cam, Brennan. He was lucky to have tasted those things with Rebecca and Parker. For some men, especially him, that was as good as it gets.

He would just have to agree to disagree with her. Because he loved her.

Cold air breathed on his body. Warm hands slid across his abs and up toward his pectorals.

He turned, knowing who those hands belonged to.

He slid his fingers behind her neck and through the strands of her hair.

"I'm sorry I've been so...I'm just sorry, Booth. It was irrational to avoid you, but that seems to be the way I naturally deal with stress."

He shook his head, "I'm over it now." He leaned close and kissed her. It felt so good again to taste her, to feel her tongue against his, to feel her body pressed against his.

"What if-- What if I wore your ring,hypothetically, and gave marriage some more thought. Maybe if we moved in with one another--Would you forgive me for what I did to you?"

"Did to me?" His hands traced water droplets along her spine. "I told you I'm over it."

"Did your ring have insurance?"

Booth shook his head.

"Booth! That wasn't very smart."

"Hold it right there, Bones," Booth said, pressing two fingers to her lips. He pulled back the curtain and took his jeans from the bathroom floor. He put his fingers into the pocket and went back into the shower. "They found when they dredged it yesterday. Someone said it was a one in a million chance."

"That was lucky."

"I don't believe in luck," he whispered, taking her hand and sliding the ring onto her finger. "And neither do you. That was meant to be, Bones--_this _is meant to be. I don't know if we'll ever walk down the aisle, Bones. Maybe we'll be engaged until the day we die, but I just want you to know how much I love you. I want you to know that no matter how this ends, I want you to be my partner when it does. In every way that counts. This is the only way I know how."

Brennan looked down at the ring, the five diamonds, the gold band. "It's beautiful," she whispered. She looked up at his eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You show me how you feel in so many more ways than just a ring--every day. And I love you for that."

"So... you'll be my fiancee?"

Those words didn't seem half so daunting as 'will you be my wife', and Booth knew it.

He knew everything about her.

She nodded. "Yes."

They both laughed, partially out of relief and partially out of joy. Then they kissed and made love in the shower and again in the bedroom.

The first thing he noticed when wakefulness came to him, was the fact that Brennan's hand was resting on his chest and her head was on his shoulder. He traced the arm with his finger tips until he came to the hand which bore the ring.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his fiancee (which sounded a lot more mature than 'his girlfriend') and smiled. She was so beautiful. And everything felt just right.

Everything.

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_There is at least one chapter left!  
_

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	40. Chapter 40

**A Boy from Philly**

**Part XXXX**

_23 months later..._

It turned out that although the two did not believe in luck, the truth was that luck was always on their side. Perhaps it was fate or blessings, too. It really depended on who you spoke to.

After Aaron Bishop was found to be the disgruntled bomber of the Riverlink Ferry in Philadelphia who basically killed himself and three others on the point that he was once 'overcharged', it turned out that a few very important connections were made in those ten minutes of chaos. Most notably, Alison and Keke Ramos, wife and daughter, respectively, to the famed (and quite thankful) Fertility Expert Alex Kingston Ramos M.D. of the Reproductive Fertility Science Institute in Wayne, PA.

_Which leads us to this moment..._

Angela winked at Hodgins from across the room. Church-winking, is that a sin? She shrugged. Either way, it wasn't like she went to church.

"Where are they?" Cam asked as Angela passed by.

Angela shrugged, "I think they had to change Baby Girl."

"It takes two to change a one month old's diaper?"

"That's what I thought, too. Just give me a second and I'll see if I can get them to go any faster." She walked past Jared, who she recognized, Caleb and Tanya, Anne and Bob, Rebecca, Parker, Max, Russ, Amy and their girls, and a handful of exceedingly good looking Booth men. What was she thinking going back with Hodgins when she and Bren could be like sisters?_ Eye on the ball, Angela._ She walked into the back room and knocked. Then opened the door, "You guys ready yet? The priest is here and everything."

Brennan put the little infant on her shoulder, "Uh-huh."

"Everyone's anxious, sweetie. We've been waiting for twenty minutes."

"OK, Ange."

"Hey, no need to snap. I'm just the messenger." Angela took her exit, leaving Brennan and Booth alone again.

"What are we gonna do?" Booth sighed, eyeing the door until it shut completely.

She shook her head, "I have no idea. Couldn't we just keep her name 'Baby Girl' until we can agree on a proper name?"

"Bones, I think that we should, you know, _Christen _our daughter on the day of her _Christening_. See where I'm going with this?"

"Just because tradition speaks to naming a child on the day of their Christening doesn't mean that we must. Nowadays people name a child long before they're born. We're already going against tradition, why not wait until we can whittle down the names and come to a joint conclusion?"

"Bones, we've already told half the people out there that she'll have a name today--"

The door opened and Anne popped her head in, "There's my Baby Girl!"

"Mom, Bones and I are having a private discussion. If you leave now, I'll let you hold her as long as you want."

"As long as I want?"

"As long as you want, Mom."

Anne smiled, "I always knew you were my favorite son."

Booth put his hand on the door, "Good-bye, Mom."

When the door closed, Brennan said, "That wasn't very nice."

"You know what's not very nice, Bones? Lying to eighty people. _That's_ what's not nice."

"Who said it was lying?"

"The definition of a lie, Bones: Telling people something that's not true. If we go out there without a name, it's a lie."

Brennan bit her bottom lip and looked down at the little girl, dressed in white hand-crocheted lace with a little bonnet on her head. Blondish hair peeked from beneath the cap and long dark lashes twitched as she slept. "How about..." Brennan looked up and formulated her plan. "How about we do like we always do?"

Booth nodded slowly, "Compromise."

"Compromise," Brennan smiled.

"So what do we do?"

"I choose the first name, you choose the middle name. Or if it sounds better with your choice preceding my choice, then we can mix them around."

Booth gave it about a second of thought and said, "Got it."

Brennan glared at him, "Did you actually give it some thought, Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones. Of course I did. Who do you think I am?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well, I think I will give it a lot more thought than you did. I read somewhere that a name really effects a person professionally, socially, and throughout every facet in their lives, so it's a heavy decision, Booth. Are you sure you--"

"Yes, Bones."

"Fine..." She thought for a moment. "OK. I think I've come to an unbiased, yet informed decision."

"You go first."

"Margaret."

"Margaret? Why Margaret? Every Margaret I've ever met comes complete with walker and denture cream."

"It's after Margaret Mead."

Booth gave her a blank look.

"The anthropologist."

Booth nodded. "I figured you'd pick a scientist's name."

"What did you choose?"

"Gretsky."

Brennan's eyes widened in horror. "Gretsky? What kind of a name is that? German?"

"No, Bones. It's after Wayne Gretsky." Another blank look. "Oilers... Kings... Rangers. C'mon, Bones, pick up a magazine every once in a while. The man is a legend. He practically put hockey on the map again!"

Brennan shook her head, "I... suppose that was your choice, but _that's_ going to be her _middle _name."

Booth smiled as the door opened again. This time it was Cam, "It's a frenzy out there. I swear, if you don't come out of there soon, then I'll go insane. Please..."

"OK, Cam. We're coming out."

Cam rolled her eyes, "Thank you," she sighed, then disappeared.

Booth took the tiny baby from Brennan's arms and put her against his chest, "Margaret Gretsky Booth." He slid his hand into Brennan's hand and together the family walked out.

They were met by huggers and kissers as they walked out of the back room and to the front of the church where the priest began to Christen the little baby.

After the ceremony, the priest said, "And I'm aware that Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth wanted to announce this little girl's name today in the presence of family and friends."

Booth took the microphone, but since he was then holding the baby, Brennan snatched it up from Booth, "We have decided to name her Margaret--" She looked at Booth.

"Gretsky," he whispered.

"Margaret Gretsky Booth."

The crowd awwed, all except for Jared who had to chase after two year old Caleb. He squeeled as he ran from his father. The crowd turned toward the sounds and laughed.

The group stood and went to congratulate the family. Angela was the first. She kissed Brennan, "Maggie's a sweet nickname," she said, winking.

Then Cam, "That's what nicknames are for," she whispered to Booth.

Anne was next in line, "I'm here to collect my debts," she announced. Booth passed the little girl off to his mother who basically radiated love on her little granddaughter.

Booth laughed, but his laughter was cut off by the warmth and pressure of Brennan's hand in his. "Take my hand," she whispered.

He smiled on her, kissed her lips and held her close. They watched as Booth's family, Brennan's family, and dozens of their lab family gathered around their daughter. Family had brought on a whole new level of meaning. Not only for Booth, but for Brennan and little Maggie. It was amazing, he thought, how he felt so weak when they were away, but so strong when they were near.

* * *

_The end._

_Although this story had two distinct parts, I tried to tie the last chapter to the first. ;) Thank you all so much for reading! Thank you for letting me take you on this adventure! It's been so much fun!  
_

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